Tourist Experiences of Individuals with Vision Impairment

People with visual disabilities Travel Australia. Tourism Research Australia

Targeting Health Disparity in Breast Cancer: Insights into Women's Knowledge of their Cancer Profile in Malaysia

Malaysian women in this cohort study demonstrated very low levels of knowledge of their cancer profile. Clinical implications for countering treatment-decision difficulties include the need for a shift in the way information and services are delivered to allow women to take a more active role in their own care. Multi-modal efforts including basic information dissemination to increase women's knowledge can contribute to narrowing of the gap in health disparity

Care for the Carers: A Self-management program for carers of people with vision impairment

Care for the Carers is a self-management program for carers of people with a vision impairment. The Care for the Carers manual includes all the materials necessary for a health professional to initiate and facilitate a six-session course for carers of people with a vision impairment. Step-by-step instructions for establishing the course and recruiting participants are also provided. The program is underpinned by the principles of self-management. The Care for the Carers program grew out of a series of workshops for carers developed for ABWA by Susan Douglas and Lisa Viska. The Care for the Carers self-management program builds upon these workshops and embeds the principles of self-management in a structured program tailored for carers of people with vision loss. This protocol aims to provide people in a care giving role with the opportunity to gain more knowledge about their partner’s or family member’s vision loss, with practical strategies to assist their partner or family member to manage their vision loss and also with skills and strategies to enhance their self-care. The Care for the Carers program comprised one component of the Vision Self-management in Practice Project, a collaborative project between the Centre for Research into Disability and Society of Curtin University and the Association for the Blind of Western Australia. The project aimed to develop and evaluate new self-management interventions, to provide health professionals with the knowledge and skills to facilitate self-management programs, and to develop organisational capacity to electronically record and monitor participant outcomes over time. The Care for the Carers component specifically aimed to empower people in a caring role, by providing them with information, strategies and skills, so as to increase their confidence in managing their caring role

Vision self-management for older adults: a randomised controlled trial

Background/aims: Ageing of the population will result in unprecedented numbers of older adults living with age-related vision loss (ARVL). Self-management models improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs; however, the principles have rarely been applied in low vision services. Methods: A two-armed randomised controlled trial of older adults (n=77) with ARVL compared ‘usual care’ provided by a not-for-profit community agency with an extended model of care (usual care+self-management group intervention). The primary outcome variable (participation in life situations) was measured using the Activity Card Sort. Secondary outcome measures examined general health and vision-specific domains.Results: The intention-to-treat analysis demonstrated that the extended model produced significantly better participation in life situations at post-test when compared with the usual care only group. Gains were made regardless of whether participants were, or were not, depressed at baseline. The addition of the self-management group was also successful in significantly reducing depression, increasing physical and mental health, generalised and domain-specific self-efficacy, and adjustment to ARVL. With the exception of adjustment and mental health, differences were still apparent at 12 weeks' follow-up. Conclusion: Addition of self-management significantly improved general health and vision-specific rehabilitation outcomes for older adults with ARVL

Living Safe: A Self-management program for people with vision impairment

Living Safe is a self-defence self-management program for people with vision loss. The Living Safe manual includes all the materials necessary for a health professional to initiate and facilitate a six-session or two-day intensive course on crime prevention and psychological and physical self-defence strategies for people with vision loss. Step-by-step instructions for establishing the course and recruiting participants, as well as instructions for conducting an individual pre-screening interview are provided. The program is underpinned by the principles of self-management. The Living Safe program grew out of the seminal work of David, Kollmar, and McCall (1998) who pioneered the first program relating to self-defence and crime prevention for people with vision loss at the Center for the Visually Impaired in Atlanta. Living Safe builds on this work by adding to the content and embedding the principles of self-management into a structured program tailored for people with vision loss. This protocol provides people with the opportunity to learn, practise and choose techniques to protect and defend themselves physically and psychologically from potential dangers in the home, workplace and community. Although the program is adaptable globally it has been written in the context of Australian society

Vision Self-Mmanagement For Older Adults: a Randomised Controlled Trial

Background/aims Ageing of the population will result in unprecedented numbers of older adults living with age-related vision loss (ARVL). Self-management models improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs; however, the principles have rarely been applied in low vision services. Methods A two-armed randomised controlled trial of older adults (n=77) with ARVL compared ‘usual care’ provided by a not-for-profit community agency with an extended model of care (usual care+self-management group intervention). The primary outcome variable (participation in life situations) was measured using the Activity Card Sort. Secondary outcome measures examined general health and vision-specific domains. Results The intention-to-treat analysis demonstrated that the extended model produced significantly better participation in life situations at post-test when compared with the usual care only group. Gains were made regardless of whether participants were, or were not, depressed at baseline. The addition of the self-management group was also successful in significantly reducing depression, increasing physical and mental health, generalised and domain-specific self-efficacy, and adjustment to ARVL. With the exception of adjustment and mental health, differences were still apparent at 12 weeks\u27 follow-up. Conclusion Addition of self-management significantly improved general health and vision-specific rehabilitation outcomes for older adults with ARVL

What We Learned about Mentoring Research Assistants Employed in a Complex, Mixed-Methods Health Study

We investigated the experiences of research assistants in their dual role as both employees and trainees, when they were employed in a complex, mixedmethods, Canadian study on the everyday experience of living with and managing a chronic condition. A total of 13 research assistants participated in one or more components of this study: a survey (n = 11), focus group interview (n = 7), and/or individual interview (n = 13). Thematic analysis identified two key themes: what faculty mentors should provide to research assistants before they begin their work, and what faculty mentors need to know in order to effectively offer ongoing support to research assistants. Our results provide valuable insights for new and experienced faculty members who employ research assistants and for research assistants employed in funded research projects. Our results can inform the development of regulations to ensure that research assistants have greater protection as both trainees and employees.   Lors d’une recherche canadienne complexe à méthodologie mixte portant sur le quotidien des gens qui vivent avec une condition chronique ou qui doivent en gérer les aspects, nous avons exploré le double rôle des adjoints à la recherche, à la fois comme employés et comme stagiaires. Au total, 13 adjoints à la recherche ont participé à au moins une composante de cette étude : un sondage (n = 11), une entrevue de groupe (n = 7), une entrevue individuelle (n = 13). Une analyse thématique a pu repérer deux thèmes principaux : ce que les mentors du corps professoral doivent savoir afin d’aider efficacement et de façon soutenue les adjoints à la recherche, et ce qu’ils doivent leur fournir avant le début des travaux. Nos résultats fournissent de précieux éclaircissements pour de nouveaux membres et des membres chevronnés du corps professoral qui emploient des adjoints à la recherche, ainsi que pour des adjoints à la recherche qui travaillent à des projets subventionnés. Nos résultats informent les responsables de l’élaboration des règlements afin de s’assurer que les adjoints à la recherche disposent d’une protection élargie en tant que stagiaires et employés

Quantitative Classification of Somatostatin-Positive Neocortical Interneurons Identifies Three Interneuron Subtypes

Deciphering the circuitry of the neocortex requires knowledge of its components, making a systematic classification of neocortical neurons necessary. GABAergic interneurons contribute most of the morphological, electrophysiological and molecular diversity of the cortex, yet interneuron subtypes are still not well defined. To quantitatively identify classes of interneurons, 59 GFP-positive interneurons from a somatostatin-positive mouse line were characterized by whole-cell recordings and anatomical reconstructions. For each neuron, we measured a series of physiological and morphological variables and analyzed these data using unsupervised classification methods. PCA and cluster analysis of morphological variables revealed three groups of cells: one comprised of Martinotti cells, and two other groups of interneurons with short asymmetric axons targeting layers 2/3 and bending medially. PCA and cluster analysis of electrophysiological variables also revealed the existence of these three groups of neurons, particularly with respect to action potential time course. These different morphological and electrophysiological characteristics could make each of these three interneuron subtypes particularly suited for a different function within the cortical circuit

Reflections of patients and therapists on a multidisciplinary rehabilitation programme for persons with brachial plexus injuries

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