Search Results (2,477)

Objective: Considering the absence of research testing the entire sequence of passion, behavioral regulation, and subjective well-being (SWB), this study aimed to analyze the hypothetical causal relationships between the variables of a model that integrates the Dualistic Passion Model (DMP) and Self-Determination Theory (SDT) in order to understand the impact of harmonious passion (HP) and obsessive passion (OP) and the regulation of motivation on the SWB of elite athletes with disability. Method: This study includes 143 elite athletes from national adapted sports (36 female; 107 male) aged between 15 and 59 (M = 29.21; SD = 10.45). Weekly training sessions ranged from 1 to 12 (M = 4.52; SD = 2.71), and the years of competitive practice ranged from 1 to 28 (M = 5.55; SD = 6.98). Data were collected using valid and reliable questionnaires for the study population and analyzed using structural equation analysis. The following results were identified: a positive and a significant effect between OP and self-determination motivation (SDM); a positive but not a significant effect between OP and non-self-determination motivation (NSDM); a significant effect between SDM and SWL and SDM and positive affect (PA); and, finally, a positive but non-significant effect between SDM and negative affect (NA). In contrast, there is a positive and significant effect between HP and SDM; a negative and significant effect between HP and NSDM; a positive but non-significant effect between NSDM and SWL; a negative and significant effect between NSDM and PA; and, finally, a positive and significant effect between NSDM and NA. Conclusions: The perception of passion regarding sport can be a positive predictor of SDM, which, in turn, can influence levels of SWB, both from a cognitive point of view (SWL) and from an emotional point of view (PA). This reinforces the positive effect of the self-determination behavior in adapted sport on SWB and its contribution to health and quality of life in people with disabilities. Full article

Background: Social and financial services are essential for the inclusion and well-being of people with disabilities (PWDs), who often rely on family caregivers to access these systems. In Saudi Arabia, where disability inclusion is a strategic goal under Vision 2030, understanding caregiver experiences is crucial to identifying service gaps and improving accessibility. Objectives: This study aimed to explore caregivers’ perspectives on awareness, perceived barriers, and accessibility of social and financial services for PWDs in Saudi Arabia. The analysis is grounded in Andersen’s Behavioural Model of Health Service Use and the WHO’s International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 3353 caregivers of PWDs attending specialised day schools. The survey collected data on demographic characteristics, service awareness, utilisation, and perceived obstacles. Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) identified latent constructs, and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used to test relationships between awareness, barriers, and accessibility. Results: Findings reveal that over 70% of caregivers lacked awareness of available services, and only about 3% had accessed them. Key challenges included technological barriers, complex procedures, and non-functional or unclear service provider platforms. Both User Barriers and Service Barriers were negatively associated with Awareness and Accessibility. Awareness, in turn, significantly predicted perceived Accessibility. Caregiver demographics, such as age, education, gender, and geographic location, also influenced awareness and service use. Conclusions: There is a pressing need for targeted awareness campaigns, accessible digital service platforms, and simplified service processes tailored to diverse caregiver profiles. Inclusive communication, decentralised outreach, and policy reforms are necessary to enhance service access and promote the societal inclusion of PWDs in alignment with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030. Full article

Background: Upper-limb impairment is a major cause of post-stroke disability, limiting participation in meaningful activities. Robotic rehabilitation may address this by delivering high-dosage, task-oriented training while reducing clinician workload. However, limited clinical translation of robotic interventions may be partly due to poor reporting in the literature. This systematic review evaluated the intervention-reporting quality (completeness and consistency) of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing robotic and conventional upper-limb stroke rehabilitation. Methods: Four databases were searched for RCTs investigating robotic upper-limb interventions compared with dose-matched conventional interventions for people with stroke. Intervention reporting was assessed using the TIDieR-Rehab checklist. Trained reviewers independently extracted and evaluated data, resolving discrepancies through consensus. Completeness and consistency were analyzed descriptively. Results: Among 25 RCTs, the overall reporting completeness was low (43%). Robotic interventions were better described (50%) than conventional interventions (36%). While timing and total dose were commonly reported, critical details on provider expertise, active dose, progressive challenge, personalization, and harms were often omitted. Reporting consistency was moderate (68%), with key information dispersed across article sections. Conclusions: Inadequate reporting limits the transparency, replication, and implementation of robotic upper-limb interventions. Adopting structured reporting frameworks like TIDieR-Rehab is essential for advancing the field. Full article

According to the World Health Organization, musculoskeletal injuries affect more than 1.71 billion people around the world. These injuries are a major public health issue and the leading cause of disability. There has been a recent interest in hydrogels as a potential biomaterial for musculoskeletal tissue regeneration. This is due to their high water content (70–99%), ECM-like structure, injectability, and controllable degradation rates. Recent preclinical studies indicate that they can enhance regeneration by modulating the release of bioactive compounds, growth factors, and stem cells. Composite hydrogels that combine natural and synthetic polymers, like chitosan and collagen, have compressive moduli that are advantageous for tendon–bone healing. Some of these hydrogels can even hold up to 0.8 MPa of tensile strength. In osteoarthritis models, functionalized systems such as microspheres responsive to matrix metalloproteinase-13 have demonstrated disease modulation and targeted drug delivery, while intelligent in situ hydrogels have exhibited a 43% increase in neovascularization and a 50% enhancement in myotube production. Hydrogel-based therapies have been shown to restore contractile force by as much as 80%, increase myofiber density by 65%, and boost ALP activity in bone defects by 2.1 times in volumetric muscle loss (VML) models. Adding TGF-β3 or MSCs to hydrogel systems improved GAG content by about 60%, collagen II expression by 35–50%, and O’Driscoll scores by 35–50% in cartilage regeneration. Full article

Intersectionality is a concept used to explain the power dynamics and inequalities that some groups experience owing to the interconnection of social differences such as in gender, sexual identity, poverty status, race, geographic location, disability, and education. The relation between software engineering, feminism, and intersectionality has been addressed by some studies thus far, but it has never been codified before. In this paper, we employ the commonly used ABC Framework for empirical software engineering to show the contributions of intersectional software engineering (ISE) as a field of software engineering. In addition, we highlight the power dynamic, unique to ISE studies, and define gender-forward intersectionality as a way to use gender as a starting point to identify and examine inequalities and discrimination. We show that ISE is a field of study in software engineering that uses gender-forward intersectionality to produce knowledge about power dynamics in software engineering in its specific domains and environments. Employing empirical software engineering research strategies, we explain the importance of recognizing and evaluating ISE through four dimensions of dynamics, which are people, processes, products, and policies. Beginning with a set of 10 seminal papers that enable us to define the initial concepts and the query for the systematic mapping study, we conduct a systematic mapping study leads to a dataset of 140 primary papers, of which 15 are chosen as example papers. We apply the principles of ISE to these example papers to show how the field functions. Finally, we conclude the paper by advocating the recognition of ISE as a specialized field of study in software engineering. Full article

This study focuses on the current service/care difficulties and challenges that social institutions in Hungary are facing during their daily operations; how they can react to them utilizing their internal resources, mechanisms, and capacities; and what concrete, tangible needs and demands are emerging in terms of methodological professional support, potential forms, interventions, and direction for professional development. A total of 24 general and 55 specific service and operational problems were identified and assessed in eight different service areas (family and child welfare services, family and child welfare centers, respite care for children, care for the homeless, addiction intervention, care for people with disabilities, care for psychiatric patients, specialized care for the elderly, and basic services for the elderly). The empirical base of the study uses a database of 201 online questionnaires completed by a professional target group working for social service providers in two counties (Győr-Moson-Sopron and Veszprém), representing 166 social service providers. The questionnaires were completed between November and December of 2022. The findings will be used to develop a professional support and development problem map. Social institutions face complex and serious service/care difficulties and challenges in their daily operations. Three distinctive basic problems clearly stand out in both severity and significance from the complex set of factors assessed. The biggest problem in the social care system is clearly the complex challenge of low wages, followed by the administrative burdens in the ranking of operational difficulties, and the third key factor was the psycho-mental workload of staff. Full article

Background: Wearable movement sensors can measure upper limb (UL) activity, but single variables may not capture the full picture. This study aimed to replicate prior work identifying five multivariate categories of UL activity performance in people with stroke and controls and expand those findings to other UL conditions. Methods: Demographic, self-report, and wearable sensor-based UL activity performance variables were collected from 324 participants (stroke n = 49, multiple sclerosis n = 19, distal UL fracture n = 40, proximal UL pain n = 55, post-breast cancer n = 23, control n = 138). Principal component (PC) analyses (12, 9, 7, or 5 accelerometry input variables) were followed by cluster analyses and numerous assessments of model fit across multiple subsets of the total sample. Results: Two PCs explained 70–90% variance: PC1 (overall UL activity performance) and PC2 (preferred-limb use). A five-variable, five-cluster model was optimal across samples. In comparison to clusters, two PCs and individual accelerometry variables showed higher convergent validity with self-report outcomes of UL activity performance and disability. Conclusions: A five-variable, five-cluster model was replicable and generalizable. Convergent validity data suggest that UL activity performance in daily life may be better conceptualized on a continuum, rather than categorically. These findings highlight a unified, data-driven approach to tracking functional changes across UL conditions and severity of functional deficits. Full article

Disability Certification is an instrument that can contribute to the identification of persons with disabilities who are potential beneficiaries of social protection programmes. In Colombia, the disability certification process was changed in 2020 to include a human rights perspective. However, little information exists on how far the process aligns with the recommendations made by the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities or to what extent it provides useful information for the operation of the country’s social protection system. This study aims to analyse how the changes implemented in 2020 have contributed to the identification and determination of persons with disabilities in social protection programmes in Colombia. This research uses an analytical-descriptive design, in which legal documents related to the social protection programme and disability certification were analysed. In addition, we conducted semi-structured interviews in Colombia with people with disabilities, professionals conducting the certification, and with key stakeholders, and we analysed the information using thematic analysis. Colombia changed its certification process in 2020, moving from a capacity-to-work assessment to a process of assessing functioning capacity and participation limitations following the International Classification of Functional Disability and Health. However, the new certification process has not provided an instrument to contribute to determining persons with disabilities who should be prioritised or receive social benefits in Colombia. The certification does not establish the support needs of people with disabilities, does not recommend reasonable adjustments to support their participation in society, and has not been used systematically in social protection programmes. Finally, individuals with disabilities commented that the disability certification is a process that does not open up opportunities to receive social benefits and social transfers, and in most cases, it is an expensive and lengthy process. Disability certification in Colombia is not an instrument that determines the needs of people with disabilities, nor the reasonable accommodations that they require in order to participate in society. Full article

Background/objectives: Being overweight increases the predisposition to obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D), which significantly elevate stroke risk and the likelihood of severe post-stroke disability. Dietary nitrate (NO₃⁻) supplementation can mitigate obesity and metabolic impairments, making it a promising approach to halt overweight people from developing overt obesity/T2D, thereby potentially also improving stroke outcome. We determined whether NO3⁻ supplementation prevents overweight mice from progressing into obesity and T2D and whether this intervention improves stroke outcome. Methods: An overweight condition was induced via 6 weeks of a high-fat diet (HFD), after which animals were randomized to either a HFD or a HFD with NO₃⁻ supplementation. After 24 weeks, when HFD-mice without NO₃⁻ developed obesity and T2D, all animals were subjected to transient middle cerebral artery occlusion and stroke outcome was assessed via behavioral testing and infarct size. The effect of NO₃⁻ on post-stroke neuroinflammation, neurogenesis, and neovascularization was analyzed by immunohistochemistry. Results: Sustained NO₃⁻ supplementation in overweight mice did not prevent obesity or insulin resistance. However, it attenuated weight gain, prevented hyperglycemia, and significantly improved functional recovery after stroke, without affecting infarct size. Moreover, NO₃⁻ decreased post-stroke neuroinflammation by reducing microglial infiltration. NO₃⁻ did not affect stroke-induced neurogenesis or vascularization. Conclusion: These results highlight the potential of NO₃⁻ supplementation to prevent metabolic impairment in the overweight population and improve stroke prognosis in this large group of people at risk of stroke and severe stroke sequelae. Full article

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) are increasingly necessary in the educational context. Digital resources could support socio-educational practices to intervene with vulnerable groups, such as people with disabilities, and improve their accessibility and inclusion. This study aims to analyse educators’ perceptions of ICT resources for socio-educational intervention with people with disabilities, as well as to determine their training needs and the possibilities and risks derived from their use. A qualitative methodology has been used to analyse the content of 12 semi-structured interviews with social educators. All of them work with students with disabilities in the extracurricular field. Based on the results, the educators habitually use popular digital devices, such as computers. They regularly search for content on the internet to obtain and disseminate ideas, perceiving an adequate domain. However, there is a need for training on specific digital resources to intervene with students with disabilities. The study highlights the need to investigate the causes that may limit some ICT uses by educators and foster the design of specific training programmes to harness the potential of ICT in socio-educational intervention. Full article

Background: Individuals with intellectual disability face an increased risk of mental health issues compared to the general population. Despite the proven efficacy of physical activity (PA) in improving anxiety and depression in the general population, little is known about this relationship in adults with intellectual disability and the factors that influence it. The purpose of the study was to determine whether a correlation exists between PA and perceived levels of anxiety and depression, and assess gender disparities in PA and mental health. Method: People with intellectual disability were recruited from day centers and sports events. The amount of PA was evaluated through the International Physical Activity Questionnaire. Perceived mental health was assessed through the Zung Self-Rating Anxiety (ZAS) and Depression Scale (ZDS). Results: In total, 99 adults (34 females, aged 33 ± 12) participated in the study. A gender disparity was found in anxiety levels, while depression, PA, and type of sport participation did not differ between males and females. Multiple regression analysis highlights how the depression score was significantly predicted by gender (β = −3.57, p = 0.015), intellectual disability level (β =−3.08, p < 0.008), and PA (β =−0.10, p= 0.001), while anxiety was influenced by gender (β = −4.48, p = 0.003) and intellectual disability level (β = −3.23, p = 0.007). Conclusions: These findings underscore the relevance of physical activity as a factor associated with lower depressive symptoms in adults with intellectual disability, highlighting its potential role in mental health promotion within this population. Full article

Background/Objectives: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a global public health concern, affecting over 60 million people annually. It is associated with high rates of mortality and disability, particularly among young and economically active individuals, and remains the leading cause of death in people under 40 years of age. Although computed tomography (CT) is the standard method for excluding intracranial bleeding (ICB), it is frequently unavailable in resource-limited settings where the burden of TBI is greatest. The InfraScanner 2000 is a near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) device designed to detect ICB and may serve as a triage tool in environments without access to CT imaging. This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic performance of the InfraScanner 2000 for detecting ICB in the emergency department (ED) of a trauma center in a cohort of Colombian patients with TBI. Methods: This prospective study was conducted in Cali, Colombia, between December 2019 and February 2021. Adult patients presenting to the ED with blunt TBI were enrolled. InfraScanner assessments were performed according to a standardized protocol, and all participants underwent head CT within 6 h of injury. Results: A total of 140 patients were included. Of these, 66% were male and 34% were female. Most patients (63.57%) were between 18 and 39 years old, with a median age of 39 years (IQR: 18–86). The InfraScanner demonstrated a sensitivity of 60.0% (95% CI: 32.5–84.8), specificity of 78.4% (95% CI: 71.2–85.6), positive predictive value (PPV) of 25.0%, and negative predictive value (NPV) of 94.2% for detecting ICB. Conclusions: The InfraScanner 2000 showed good specificity and high NPV in identifying ICB among Colombian patients with TBI. These findings suggest it could serve as a useful triage tool to support decision-making in emergency settings with limited access to CT imaging. Full article

Background/Objectives: Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) are among the most debilitating conditions and are a leading cause of disability in young people. This study aimed to analyze the causes of SCIs, assess injury severity using the AIS scale, and evaluate complications during rehabilitation in a hospital setting. Methods: The study involved 176 individuals with SCI, including 142 with a traumatic SCI (TSCI) and 34 with a non-traumatic SCI (NTSCI), rehabilitated at various times post-injury. The data on injury causes, paresis type, complications, wheelchair use, gender, age, and treatment methods were collected. The injury severity was assessed using the AIS. Results: A significant gender difference was found between the TSCI and NTSCI groups (85.2% male vs. 61.8% male). TSCI individuals were also younger. The causes of TSCI were traffic accidents, falls from height, and diving, while the causes for NTSCI included spinal ischemia, tumors, degenerative disc disease, and inflammation. TSCI individuals had more AIS A lesions (52.8% vs. 26.5%) and more cervical injuries (53.5% vs. 14.7%), whereas NTSCI individuals had more AIS C lesions (38.2% vs. 18.3%) and thoracic damage (58.8% vs. 35.2%). TSCI patients were more often treated surgically (95.7% vs. 61.8%) and used wheelchairs (88% vs. 55.9%). No significant differences were found in terms of complications between the groups, though TSCI individuals underwent more chronic rehabilitation. Conclusions: Our research shows that there are significant differences between TSCI and NTSCI both in terms of the level of damage and the severity of damage to neural structures (AIS scales), and thus significant differences in the patients’ functioning in later life for both groups of individuals. Full article

The present study investigated the impact of a disability awareness program on the attitudes of university students at Al-Ahliyya Amman University towards people with disabilities. The study employed a randomized, two-group, pre- and post-test design. A total of 60 university students were randomly allocated to either the experimental or control group. The results of a survey showed that those in the experimental group, in comparison with the control group, exhibited a statistically significant increase in the favorability of their attitudes towards people with disabilities following the implementation of the program. Based on the results of this study, we recommend implementing disability awareness programs inside universities and subsequently evaluating their effectiveness in enhancing student attitudes and interactions with people with disabilities, which in turn could lead to a more inclusive society and improve the quality of life for people with disabilities by reducing social barriers and fostering greater understanding and acceptance. The limitations of this study include its restriction to a single university setting and its utilization of a rather small sample size. The study did not assess the long-term effects of the disability awareness program. Full article

Background/Objectives: Vertebral fractures (VFs) are a global health issue caused by traumatic or pathological factors that compromise spinal integrity. The burden of VFs is increasing, particularly in older adults. Methods: Data from the Global Burden of Disease 2021 were analyzed to estimate the prevalence, mortality, and years lived with disability due to VFs from 1990 to 2021. Estimates were stratified according to age, sex, and region. Bayesian meta-regression models were used to generate age-standardized rates, and projections for 2050 were calculated using demographic trends and the sociodemographic index. Das Gupta’s decomposition assessed the relative contributions of population growth, aging, and prevalence changes to future case numbers. Results: In 2021, approximately 5.37 million people (95% Uncertainty Interval [UI]: 4.70–6.20 million) experienced VFs globally, with an age-standardized prevalence of 65 per 100,000. Although the rates have declined slightly since 1990, the absolute burden has increased owing to population aging. VF prevalence was the highest in Eastern and Western Europe and in high-income regions. Males had higher VF rates until 70 years of age, after which females surpassed them, reflecting postmenopausal osteoporosis. Falls and road injuries were the leading causes of VF. By 2050, the number of VF cases is expected to increase to 8.01 million (95% UI: 6.57–8.64 million). Conclusions: While the age-standardized VF rates have decreased slightly, the global burden continues to increase. Targeted strategies for the early diagnosis, osteoporosis management, and fall prevention are necessary to reduce the impact of VFs. Full article