Social Characteristics Of Participants Research Articles

Social Participation as a goal of the post-stroke rehabilitation program: a literature review

Introduction: Stroke is considered one of the leading causes of long-term disability worldwide. Physical, cognitive and psychological disabilities resulting from stroke can lead to a wide variety of activity limitations and participations restrictions. Objective: To verify the incidence of articles in the literature that used physiotherapy programs aimed at social participation and to analyze if these programs are based on domains of the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health (ICF) in post-stroke people. Method: It was selected any type of study that presented post-stroke human sample over 18 years of age with no gender restriction, to be written in any language and year of publication, to have used physical rehabilitation as a form of treatment and social participation assessed by ICF as outcome. The descriptors and Boolean operators: stroke, rehabilitation, International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health, social participation, were used in the sample search strategy in database PEDro, PubMed, Web of Science and Scielo. Results: After applying the inclusion/exclusion criteria, five articles remaining. Assessment tools for participation in daily and social activities were not consensual in the range of areas that needed to be addressed in stroke rehabilitation. A single study used the ICF-based design model in its program. Conclusion: There are few studies that have measured the various characteristics of social participation using the ICF as a tool. More studies are needed to create an ideal standardization and strategy that direct interventions to improve specific aspects of social participation, including the involvement in activities that provide post-stroke individuals interaction with society.

Social participation and personal autonomy of individuals with spinal cord injury.

To investigate, based on scientific literature, evidence on social participation and personal autonomy of individuals with spinal cord injury. Integrative review of the literature including studies published between January 2006 and September 2016, obtained in the databases PubMed, CINAHL and LILACS. The guiding question was: "What evidence is available in the scientific literature about the social participation and/or personal autonomy of individuals with spinal cord injury?" The data were processed by IRaMuTeQ and analyzed by the Hierarchical Descending Classification, according to the expertise of the researchers. Six selected studies discussed social participation, one discussed personal autonomy and two discussed both. 107 text segments were retained and gave rise to five classes. There is little specificity regarding the characteristics of social participation and personal autonomy of individuals with spinal cord injury. The existence of barriers forces them to adopt strategies to participate autonomously.

The validation of a French-language version of the Aging Perceptions Questionnaire (APQ) and its extension to a population aged 55 and over

BackgroundSeveral studies have shown the influence of the perceptions of aging on the cognitive functioning and the mental and physical health of older people. These relationships have not to date been studied in France where validated instruments are lacking. The primary objective of this study was to validate a French-language version of the Aging Perceptions Questionnaire (APQ) in the French general population aged 65 and over. The secondary objective was to study the stability of the dimensions of this instrument among participants aged 55 to 64.MethodsThe study was proposed to the cohort of the Observatoire Régional du Vieillissement (OPREVI) (observatory of aging), located in a small town in Poitou-Charentes (western France). An anonymous questionnaire including the APQ was sent by mail to inhabitants aged 55 and over. The original English language APQ was described with adults aged 65 and older. It has 32 items distributed on 7 dimensions: timeline chronic and cyclical, positive and negative consequences, positive and negative control and emotional representations.Results656 adults participated in this survey (286 men, 370 women). Among those aged 65 and over (n = 394), the seven-factor structure estimated by confirmatory factor analysis was coherent with original findings. Internal consistency as evaluated by Cronbach alpha, was between 0.83 for consequences negative and 0.52 for control negative. Several dimensions were strongly correlated. Among participants aged 55 to 64 (n = 262), the same factorial model yielded an acceptable fit. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis concluded to approximate factorial invariance between the two age groups with a null delta in comparative fit index.ConclusionThis study among French people aged 65 and over, added further evidence of the multidimensional structure of the French version of the APQ which is superimposed to the dimensions of the original Irish version. The same factorial structure applies acceptably to the younger group (aged 55–64). The OPREVI study is ongoing, and will collect data on the physical, material and social characteristics of participants. It will therefore be possible to analyse the variables associated with the perceptions of aging. On the basis of an individual's perceptions of aging as captured by this questionnaire, and his or her clinical profile, tailored multi-dimensional assistance could be made available aiming to provide incentives to anticipate or to adapt to difficulties.

Citizens’ trust in public and political institutions in Nepal

This article examines patterns of popular trust in political and public institutions in Nepal. We ask to what extent such trust is linked, on one hand, to citizens’ social and political identities, and on the other hand, to citizens’ perceptions of institutional performance. Our findings demonstrate that trust in public institutions varies extensively. Trust is high for a number of professional institutions, such as schools and hospitals. It is also quite high for local government institutions. Trust in the parliament and the government is much lower. Furthermore, the analysis reveals a weak relationship between institutional trust and identity variables. Demographic and social characteristics of participants, such as caste, and religious and political affiliations, have little significance in explaining the level of citizens’ trust in political and public institutions. Such trust primarily depends upon how citizens assess the performance of these institutions. Hence, patterns of institutional trust depend on how participants evaluate the current macro-political situation in Nepal, whether recent political changes are judged to have gone in the right direction. In a more general and comparative perspective our findings from Nepal fit with a performance-based theory of institutional trust, while, to a large extent, they disconfirm identity-based explanations.

CIVIC ENGAGEMENT AMONG SMALL-GROUP PARTICIPANTS: CREATING COMMUNITY OR SELF-ABSORPTION?

Small support groups are a relatively new form of voluntary association appearing in the American landscape. Examining the larger implications of the “small group movement” for civic life has led some to see an overall positive effect on wider community activities, while others have viewed small-group participants as self-absorbed and withdrawing from participation in civic activities. Using a national sample of small-group participants, we examine the effects on civic engagement stemming from the social characteristics of participants, the type of small group (religious, secular, or mixed), and the opportunity to develop social capital through participation in small groups. Findings indicate that members of religious small groups do not actively engage in civic affairs, but members of secular and mixed groups do participate in a broad range of civic activities. Differences in social participation can be attributed to characteristics of the small groups (formalization and cohesion) and to some characteristics of members (education). When small support groups offer members the opportunity to acquire civic skills, to exchange information, and to develop self-efficacy, there is more interest and activity in civic affairs.

Characteristics of social participation as defined by older adults with a chronic physical illness

Purpose. To conceptualize social participation in line with the experiences of older adults with a chronic physical illness.Method. Qualitative study consisting of ten individual interviews and two focus group interviews with older adults with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease or Diabetes Mellitus Type 2.Results. Four domains of social participation were identified on the basis of the individual interviews: (i) social contacts and social activities, (ii) work and informal support, (iii) cultural activities and public events, and (iv) politics and media. Three characteristics of social participation could be distilled from discussions in the focus groups: social contact, contributing resources to society and receiving resources from society. In addition, only positive experiences were considered to be social participation.Conclusions. In our study, older adults with a chronic physical illness perceived social participation as a positive experience having one or more of the following three characteristics: social contact, contributing resources to society or receiving resources from society. This is fairly consistent with the literature about social participation, although previous researchers did not mention a positive experience condition and disagreed whether receiving resources could be considered as ‘genuine’ social participation.

Decentralization, Local Powers and Social Participation in Education in Bolivia: The Cases of Tarabuco and La Paz (1997-2003)

Since the Declaration of ministers of education of iberoamerican countries held in Santa Fe de Bogotá, November 4-6, 1992, the decentralization of education has been a recurrent subject of educational reforms in Latin American countries, where in some of them the experiences of decentralization have preceded said Declaration while in others they have followed it. The educational reforms that have come about within the last years associate the decentralization of education with social participation and improvements in the quality of education, among other subjects. This article discusses these topics, questioning what type of decentralization would be effective in Bolivia, which would be the characteristics of social participation and how it is affecting the quality of education. The analysis is done using a micropolitical approach and its emphasis is on the social practices of the actors (i.e., local authorities, teachers and parents), grounding its methodology in two case studies: La Paz and Tarabuco (Bolivia). It is suggested that policies of education decentralization and theoretical social sciences approaches have not been successful in explaining the phenomenon of social relations of power at the local level that affects the nature of any decentralization process, because at the core of State power there is a hegemonic dominance of the managerial approach and a vision of education that is essentially bureaucratic.

Potencialidades e desafios da participação em instâncias colegiadas dos sistemas de saúde: os casos de Itália, Inglaterra e Brasil

This paper focuses on three models for citizens' participation in health (Italy, Great Britain, and Brazil). After discussing the strengths and weakness of the three experiences, the study presents a comparative analysis, highlighting convergences and variations in relation to the main characteristics of social participation in the health sector: (a) organization and composition of health councils; (b) functions played by citizens' representatives (decision-making, advisory, or social control or oversight); and (c) approaches to community participation. The paper then focuses on two critical points emerging from the analysis of experiences with community participation: the issue of representativeness and the difficulty experienced by representatives of health services users in influencing the decision-making by system managers.

Strength-Based Assessment of Rural African American Early Adolescents: Characteristics of Students in High and Low Groups on the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale

Early adolescents’ strengths were examined in relation to factors that are associated with developmental risk or resilience in two rural low-income southern communities. The sample was comprised 279 students (101 boys, 178 girls), all of whom were African American and reflected the public school attendance of this community. Parent reports on the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS) were used to assess strengths. BERS scores were examined in relation to academic, behavioral, and social characteristics of participants. For girls, total strength scores on the BERS were positively associated with indices of high competence and negatively associated with problematic characteristics. For boys, high and low total strength scores differentiated between youth who did and did not have risks associated with externalizing behavior problems. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for assessment and prevention.

Symbolic, ritual and social dynamics of spiritual healing

Participant observation among white, middle class spiritual healing groups in the Baltimore area (1981–1983) revealed distinct sociocultural and interpersonal patterns of action and influence among two types of groups found. Types of groups were (1) Christian, Pentecostal, neo-Pentecostal or ‘charismatic’ healing groups and (2) ‘New Age’, or ‘metaphysical’ healing groups. Qualitative findings highlight similarities and differences between these two types of groups through examination of organizational characteristics, leadership patterns, ideological systems, and ritual processes. Illness and social characteristics of participants are also compared. Analysis of characteristics of groups and participants shows how the incorporation of explanatory models, social roles, myths, and symbols into the social, ideational, and ritual context of spiritual healing is essential to its therapeutic effect, and that spiritual healing exemplifies a symbolic healing system. Finally, a substantive theoretical model for healing research is suggested.

Notes from the cancer underground: Health attitudes and practices of participants in the laetrile movement

In an earlier paper in this journal we presented data on the social characteristics of participants in the Laetrile movement [1]. In this note we present data on the health attitudes and practices of these people. A description of the symposium at which the data were collected and details of the methodological procedures are contained in the earlier paper. It should be emphasized that the data should be viewed as exploratory. Completed questionnaires were obtained from 252 people. Virtually all were white, most were female (60%), middle-aged (the mean age was 44 years), highly educated (61% had some college experience and 15% had done post-graduate work), and rural or from small towns (65%). A number of the items on health attitudes and practices were taken from the National Health Survey, thus allowing comparisons with national norms.