This study aimed to investigate the experiences of people with intellectual disability (ID) using information and communication technologies (ICTs) and the ways these technologies foster social connectedness. In partnership with a community mental health organization, this qualitative descriptive study explored the experiences of 10 people with ID using ICTs. Participants described how ICTs Opened the Door to Possibilities in their life – ICTs provided an avenue for connecting with other people, a means to pursue personal interests and a tool for organizing everyday life. Opening the door to possibilities was further understood as movement towards digital inclusion for people with ID, conceptualized as the fit between social opportunity and personal skills. We have identified the prominent role social supports play in creating (and constraining) opportunities for digital inclusion, and that digital inclusion has the potential to enable social connectedness and the development of agency. Consideration of the complex interaction between social opportunity and personal skills, and the mediating influence of supports, will enhance the inclusion of people with ID.
The proliferation of mobile phones in this resource-limited setting provided a feasible method for reducing the exclusion of PWD and caregivers. SMS was a useful tool for sharing information and reducing the isolation experienced by this socially excluded population. Implications for Rehabilitation Mobile phones are a prevalent technology in many resource-limited settings; short message service (SMS) is a feasible tool for sharing information and reducing isolation experienced by people with disabilities (PWD) and their families. When developing technology-based projects in resource-limited settings, the field of rehabilitation could apply principles from the field of Information and Communication Technology for Development (ICT4D). Projects in resource-limited settings could consider using a community-based research (CBR) approach. This collaborative approach can enhance the contextual relevance of the project. Caregivers of PWD found the project to be both useful and meaningful, and as a result of the project became more involved in their community.
People who have been diagnosed with serious mental illness have a long history of confinement, social stigma and marginalisation that has constrained their participation in society. Drawing upon the work of Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, we have used the concepts of: assemblages, major and minor and deterritorialisation to critically analyse two pervasive and ‘taken‐for‐granted’ assemblages in mental health: recovery (including clinical recovery, social recovery and recovery‐oriented practice) and social inclusion. Our analysis explores how dominant and oppressive forces have been entangled with liberating and transformative forces throughout both of these assemblages – with dominant forces engaging in ongoing processes of capture and control, and transformative forces resisting and avoiding capture. In pursuit of social transformation for people categorised with serious mental illness, deterritorialisation is posited as a potential way forward. To have transformation in the lives of mental health service users, we present the possibility that ongoing, disruptive movements of deterritorialisation can unsettle majoritarian practices of capture and control – producing liberating lines of flight.
To investigate the safety, feasibility, and acceptability of a novel treatment, intermittent electrical stimulation (IES), for preventing deep tissue injury (DTI) in different healthcare settings. Testing was conducted in an acute rehabilitation unit of a general hospital, a tertiary rehabilitation hospital, a long-term care facility, and homecare (HC). IES was delivered through surface electrodes placed either directly on the gluteal muscles or through mesh panels inside a specialized garment. Study participants at risk for DTI used the system for an average of 4 weeks. Outcome measures included skin reaction to long-term stimulation, demands on the caregiver, stability of induced muscle contraction, and acceptability as part of the users' daily routine. A total of 48 study participants used the IES system. The system proved to be safe and feasible in all four clinical settings. No pressure ulcers were observed in any of the participants. There was no difference between the clinical settings in patient positioning, ease of finding optimal stimulation site, and patient acceptance. Although donning and doffing time was longer in the long-term care and HC settings than the acute rehabilitation unit and tertiary rehabilitation facility, time required to apply the IES system was <18 min (including data collection). The patients and caregivers did not find the application disruptive and indicated that the stimulation was acceptable as part of their daily routine in over 97% of the time. We demonstrated the safety, feasibility, and acceptability of a novel method of IES to prevent DTI in a continuum of healthcare settings.
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