No abstract

No abstract

Purpose To examine the prevalence of post-stroke depression (PSD) among African American stroke survivors and the association of depression with functional status at inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) discharge. Methods Secondary data analysis was conducted of a patient cohort who received care at three IRFs in the United States from 2009–2011. Functional status was measured by the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). Multiple linear regression models were used to examine associations of PSD and FIM motor and cognitive scores. Results Of 458 African American stroke survivors, 48.5% were female, 84% had an ischemic stroke, and the mean age was 60.8 ± 13.6 years. Only 15.4% (n=71) had documentation of PSD. Bivariate analyses to identify factors associated with depression identified a higher percentage of patients with depression than without who were retired due to disability (17.1% vs. 11.6%) or employed (31.4% vs. 19.6%) pre-stroke (p=0.041). Dysphagia, cognitive deficits, and a lower admission motor FIM score were also significantly more common among those with depression. There was no significant relationship between depression and functional status after adjusting for patient characteristics. Conclusions In this study 15% of the African Americans who received rehabilitation after a stroke had documentation of PSD but this was not associated with functional status at discharge.

Cancer pain has been shown to have a significant negative impact on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) for people experiencing it. This is also true for patients admitted to inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs). An interdisciplinary approach is often needed to fully address a person's pain to help them attain maximum functional independence and to ensure a safe discharge home. Improving a patient's performance status in an IRF may also be a crucial determinant in their ability to continue receiving treatment for their cancer. However, if a person is determined to no longer be a candidate for aggressive, disease modulating treatment, IRFs can also be utilized to help patients and family's transition to comfort directed care with palliative or hospice services. This article will discuss the interventions of the multidisciplinary inpatient rehabilitation team to address a person's pain.

Abstract. This paper describes an effort to address life-threatening diseases and health conditions through engaging use of mobile devices. The design targeted children ages 7-11, with a goal of becoming aware of the nutritional value of foods that they eat on a regular basis. The implementation efforts resulted in Health Attack, a matching and memory game that seeks to raise the knowledgelevel of participants about the foods that they eat. The evaluation of Health Attack, conducted through a demo and questionnaire administered to K-12 teachers, suggests that this type of game would be engaging for younger audiences as a first step in raising health awareness.