Community Integration Of Individuals Research Articles

Familiarity With and Use of Accommodations and Supports Among Postsecondary Students With Mental Illnesses

Many persons with serious mental illnesses are interested in pursuing postsecondary education and are doing so in increasing numbers. Accommodations can be essential, but limited research suggests that few formally seek accommodations, although increased efforts to heighten awareness may be changing this. The purpose of this study was to examine whether students with mental illnesses are increasingly aware of, and utilize, accommodations and academic supports and to identify the supports that are most used and perceived to be most helpful. A national Internet survey was conducted from July 2005 to July 2006, resulting in responses from 190 current and 318 former students with mental illnesses. The study found modest but significant negative correlations between how long ago students left college and their familiarity with accommodations, their request for or receipt of accommodations, and their use of the Office for Students With Disabilities. These results were particularly noticeable when comparing current and former students. Moderate positive correlations that were significant were found between familiarity with accommodations, use of campus disability offices, and request for or receipt of accommodations. There is increased awareness and use of accommodations among students with mental illnesses, but it is also clear that most receive supports directly from instructors without going through the formal accommodations process. Encouraging students to utilize disability offices and greater attention to accommodation barriers may further increase support seeking. Supports that are most used and viewed as most helpful provide direction for service providers and campus personnel in their efforts to facilitate students' educational goals.

Distal Support and Community Living Among Individuals Diagnosed with Schizophrenia and Schizoaffective Disorder

Community integration for individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia is essential to successful community tenure. Most of the research and clinical emphasis on the process of integration has been focused on the successes in normative goals (e.g., employment, support networks). Little research has focused on how individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder integrate in the realm of public life involving the casual routine interactions with other community members, termed “distal support” in this study. This was a cross–sectional study specifically designed to develop a measure of distal support and to identify clinical and sociodemographic factors associated with fostering distal supports.Findings suggest that personality factors, specifically extroversion and openness, play a role in the process of fostering community distal supports. It was also found that a greater number of distal supports were associated with higher quality of life satisfaction ratings and sense of belonging scores with the participants who were diagnosed with schizophrenia. A greater number of distal supports were associated with higher hospitalization rates and emergency contacts among the participants diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, but not among those diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Reduced community integration in persons following traumatic brain injury, as measured on the community integration measure: An exploratory analysis

Purpose. To explore the community integration of individuals who had suffered a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and compare this to members of the general public.Method. An independent groups design explored differences in three groups' levels of community integration. These groups consisted of ten survivors of TBI, ten male and ten female controls and were measured using The Community Integration Measure (CIM). All participants were resident in Northern Ireland (NI). The brain injured participants were drawn from a Belfast-based social skills programme.Results. Mann-Whitney U tests showed a statistically significant difference between female controls and brain-injured individuals (U = 26.50, N1 = 10, N2 = 10, p = 0.037, one-tailed).Conclusion. Females were more integrated into their communities than males, who were, in turn, more integrated than brain injured individuals. It would appear that brain injury survivors are doubly disadvantaged. Their gender (mainly male), and the injury itself, conspire to reduce their integration within the wider community.

Community integration of people with traumatic brain injury: introduction

Gordon WA. Community integration of people with traumatic brain injury: introduction. 2004;85(4 Suppl 2):S1–2. This introduction discusses the philosophy of the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Community Integration of Individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. This approach places the perspective, values, and preferences of the person with a disability at the center of our work. Seven of the 9 articles in the supplement are based on the research of the RRTC. The articles address the following: methods of implementing a research program within a Participatory Action Research framework, insider-outsider power relationships within measurement, a review of quality of life research on individuals with TBI, 2 articles summarizing research on depression, an evaluation of a method for identifying TBI in schoolchildren, a study of aging in people with TBI, an evaluation of an innovative community-based vocational rehabilitation program, and a description of findings from the Colorado Traumatic Brain Injury Registry and Follow-Up System.

Ageing with spinal cord injury: the impact of spousal support

Purpose: Research has offered ample evidence that spousal support can be seen as an important contributing factor to the ongoing health and well-being of ageing individuals, whether or not they have a spinal cord injury (SCI) or disability. In fact, spouses may be the most important element in successful rehabilitation and long-term home care for people with spinal cord injuries. This longitudinal study, which describes 225 British SCI long-term survivors, offers insight into marital status and its impact on general quality of life, depression, stress and community integration for individuals with SCI. Results: The results demonstrate married individuals having less depression, greater life satisfaction and psychological wellbeing, and having better perceived quality of life. When controlling for age, duration of injury, and gender, marital status was a significant predictor of better perceived life satisfaction and quality of life.

Perspective

Supported employment is an established approach to community-based employment that has provided many individuals with significant disabilities an opportunity to choose between a lifetime of low wages in segregated sheltered workshop settings and the challenges of a real job in their local community. As a service-delivery strategy that embodies the principles of individualized, community-based support services and consumer empowerment, supported employment has become the preferred employment alternative for large numbers of individuals previously excluded from work opportunities (Rusch, Chadsey-Rusch, & Johnson, 1991; Wehman & Kregel, 1994). The purpose of this article is to summarize the present status of supported employment, discuss the major accomplishments of the initiative, and identify those issues that must be addressed in the future to allow the program to achieve its long-term goal of promoting the economic independence and community integration of individuals with significant disabilities.

Physical aggression against psychiatric inpatients by family members and partners.

The rate of recent violence against newly admitted psychiatric inpatients by partners and family members was assessed. Sixty-nine patients who had a partner or contact with a family member participated. A high proportion of respondents reported physical victimization by either their partner (62.8 percent) or a family member (45.8 percent). Physical abuse was rarely documented in medical charts, and most respondents did not consider the violence they experienced to be abuse. Almost half of the respondents met criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder in response to their physical victimization. The findings underscore the importance of assessing recent partner and family violence in the routine evaluation of psychiatric patients.

NICU Treatment Team Function and Its Effect on Parental Stress

With the goal of occupational therapy being to assist persons in living independently, few occupational therapists (OTs) work in independent living and vocational settings or are heavily engaged in independent living and vocational interventions. Ultimately, clients suffer when attempting to reintegrate into the community without adequate resources, especially persons with head injuries who present with numerous disabilities. Perhaps OTs are not well-trained to provide these services. This paper describes the incorporation of information about service provision within the independent living and vocational rehabilitation models, especially related to individuals with head injuries, into the University of Kansas' occupational therapy curriculum. Evaluations indicated success in increasing knowledge about and improving attitudes regarding service provision within these models and the community integration of individuals with head injuries.

Long-term outcomes following spinal cord injury

Long-term outcome assessment of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) beyond acute rehabilitation is becoming an increasingly important issue as life expectancies for people with SCI approach those of the general population. This article provides information about research on the long-term physical and psychological well-being and the community integration of individuals with SCI. Persons with SCI have been found to have more physical and psychological problems and they are less well integrated into the community than the general population. Long-term measurement issues, criteria for selection of instruments, and recommended instruments are discussed.

Providing Instruction in Independent Living and Vocational Rehabilitation for Individuals with Head Injuries Within an Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Curriculum

With the goal of occupational therapy being to assist persons in living independently, few occupational therapists (OTs) work in independent living and vocational settings or are heavily engaged in independent living and vocational interventions. Ultimately, clients suffer when attempting to reintegrate into the community without adequate resources, especially persons with head injuries who present with numerous disabilities. Perhaps OTs are not well-trained to provide these services. This paper describes the incorporation of information about service provision within the independent living and vocational rehabilitation models, especially related to individuals with head injuries, into the University of Kansas' occupational therapy curriculum. Evaluations indicated success in increasing knowledge about and improving attitudes regarding service provision within these models and the community integration of individuals with head injuries.

Community Integration Following Traumatic Brain Injury1

Community integration is the assumption or resumption of culturally and developmentally appropriate social roles following disability. This article describes characteristics of a model system of professional and social services required to address the long-term, community integration of individuals who have experienced traumatic brain injury (TBI). Emphasis is given to defining the goals and values of a model system rather than the structure itself. Goals are defined from the point of view of the individual who has incurred a TBI, the professional providing rehabilitation services, and the society in which they both function. Optimal quality of life is described as the attainment of desirable outcomes from all three perspectives. Common barriers to optimal quality of life are discussed in relation to six salient dimensions of life activities. Values of a model system are drawn from recently delineated principles of community-based services. Implications for the structure of a model system built on these goals and values are suggested.