Stroke virtual rehabilitation in rural communities: exploring the perceptions of stroke survivors, caregivers, clinicians, and health administrators.

Purpose: Rural-dwelling stroke survivors have unmet rehabilitation needs after returning to community-living. Virtual rehabilitation, defined as the use of technology to provide rehabilitation services from a distance, could be a viable and timely solution to address this need, especially within the COVID-19 pandemic context. There is still a minimal understanding of virtual rehabilitation delivery within rural contexts.

Positive and negative experiences of caregivers helping power wheelchair users: a mixed-method study.

Purpose: This study aimed to better understand how the powered wheelchair (PWC) impacts the experiences of family caregivers of PWC users, and explore the strategies and resources used by caregivers to cope with their role.

Materials And Methods: This mixed-methods study was part of a larger cross-sectional research study conducted in four Canadian cities. Twenty-three family caregivers of PWC users, who provided at least 2 h of support per week, completed the Power Mobility Caregiver Assistive Technology Outcome (PM-CATOM), an 18-item measure assessing PWC-related and overall burden experienced by family caregivers.

Adaptive outdoor physical activities for adults with mobility disability: a scoping review.

Introduction: Outdoor physical activity (PA) contributes to the physical and mental health and well-being of individuals with a mobility impairment. However, individuals are commonly excluded from outdoor PA because of accessibility challenges. No reviews summarizing evidence on factors that facilitate/hinder participation and inclusion of individuals with mobility disabilities in adaptive outdoor PA were identified.

Disability rights and empowerment: Reflections on AJCP research and a call to action.

People living with physical, sensory, intellectual, and/or developmental disabilities experience complex social, environmental, political, and cultural challenges along with stigma and marginalization in education, employment, and community life. These multiple and complex barriers often hinder their full and effective participation in society. In this reflection, we curated articles on physical, sensory, intellectual, and/or developmental disabilities published in the American Journal of Community Psychology from 1973 to 2022.

Reflection on the application of the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research to a national policy to improve inclusion of people with disabilities.

People with disabilities face many barriers in the built environment impacting their mobility, health, and social participation. In the US, under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), municipalities were required to develop and implement barrier-removal plans for pedestrian infrastructure, called ADA transition plans, but very few have done so. Many communities know they need a plan but do not know how to get it done because of a lack of understanding of the many different implementation considerations.

Experiential Aspects of Participation in Employment and Mobility for Adults With Physical Disabilities: Testing Cross-Sectional Models of Contextual Influences and Well-Being Outcomes.

Objective: To use structural equation modeling to test research- and theory-informed models of potential predictors and outcomes of subjective experiences of employment and mobility participation in a national sample of people with physical disabilities.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Setting: Canada.

Social participation of individuals with spinal injury using wheelchairs in rural Tanzania after peer training and entrepreneurial skills training.

Background: Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) in less-resourced settings reported barriers to community integration, including inaccessible rehabilitation services, restricted environments and limited social integration. Peer training and entrepreneurial skills training are provided by Motivation, a nonprofit organisation, and Moshi Cooperative University to enhance occupational engagement of individuals with SCI in less-resourced settings.

Objective: This study aimed to explore the impact of peer training and entrepreneurial skills training on the social participation of individuals with SCI living in Tanzania.

"I never really thought that a virtual ride would be that good!": Experiences of participants with disabilities in online leisure-time physical activity during COVID-19.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the sedentary behavior and inactivity of people, including individuals with disability, who were already less active than their able-bodied counterparts. Therefore, it is particularly important to think about how to maintain and increase their leisure-time physical activity (LTPA). Online adaptive programs may represent a useful tool to do so.

Providing Accessible ReCreation Outdoors-User-Driven Research on Standards: Protocol for Mobile and Web-Based Interviews for Winter Assessments.

Background: Although there have been recent efforts to improve access to Canadian national parks, many remain not fully accessible to people with disabilities. Winter conditions, in particular, present challenges that limit their participation in outdoor activities.

Objective: This study aimed to develop a novel method to assess park access during winter, which will inform recommendations for national park standards to meet the needs of all park visitors (regardless of ability) during winter conditions.

Providing Accessible Recreation Outdoors-User-Driven Research on Standards (PARCOURS): Protocol for a Multiphase Study.

Background: Canada's national parks are world-renowned. However, despite recent attempts to improve access, many are not accessible to people with disabilities. With the advent of provincial and federal legislation, standards are being developed to assist with the design and management of parks.

World Café- a community conversation: a Canadian perspective on stroke survivors needs for community integration.

Background: Stroke is an acute condition that requires immediate care and long-term community-based chronic care supports. Communities vary in their ability to support the complex needs of this population.

Objectives: To bring stroke recovery stakeholders together to discuss the needs of community-based stroke recovery and develop possible solutions across one province in Canada.

Using photovoice to increase social inclusion of people with disabilities: Reflections on the benefits and challenges.

The aim of this study was to understand the mobility experiences of mobility device users regarding the environmental and social barriers and facilitators in their community and to discuss the benefits and challenges of using photovoice, as a participatory methodology, to increase social participation for people with disabilities. Photovoice was used with mobility device users (n = 70) in two different locations in Canada. The participants took pictures for two weeks and then participated in individual interviews and focus group sessions to discuss their photographs.

The role of clothing on participation of persons with a physical disability: A scoping review.

Determining ways to facilitate participation of persons with a physical disability is crucial and clothing may play a central role. This review aims to synthesize and examine the role of clothing on participation of persons with a physical disability. Six research databases and grey literature were searched following Arksey & O'Malley's six steps, including multiple expert consultations.

Examining the Impact of Knowledge Mobilization Strategies to Inform Urban Stakeholders on Accessibility: A Mixed-Methods study.

Urban areas offer many opportunities for people with disabilities, but limited accessibility may prevent their full engagement in society. It has been recommended that the experience-based perspective of people with disabilities should be an integral part of the discussion on urban accessibility, complementing other stakeholder expertise to facilitate the design of more inclusive environments. The goals of this mixed-method study were to develop knowledge mobilization (KM) strategies to share experience-based findings on accessibility and evaluate their impact for various urban stakeholders.

All aboard: users' experiences of adapted paddling programs.

Purpose: Research has yet to examine the experiences of paddle boarders, or of kayakers with disabilities other than spinal cord injuries. The goal of this study was to explore the experiences of kayakers and paddle boarders in two adaptive paddling programs.

Method: Participants were children and adults requiring physical, cognitive, and/or psychosocial supports.

Up on the hill: the experiences of adaptive snow sports.

Introduction: Literature supports the benefits of involvement for people with disabilities in adaptive snow sports. However, the literature is lacking in understanding the experiences of those involved in these programs or understanding what facilitates participation in adaptive snow sports.

Objectives: This project aims to (1) explore the experiences of people with disabilities participating in adaptive snow sports; and (2) to explore the factors which impact participation in adaptive snow sports.

Longitudinal Outcomes Among Family Caregivers of Power Mobility Users.

Objective: To examine the change over 1 year in the burden, wheelchair skills, social support, social participation, and mental health of family caregivers providing assistance to older adult powered wheelchair users.

Design: Longitudinal study.

Setting: Community.

Participating more, participating better: Health benefits of adaptive leisure for people with disabilities.

Background: Increasing participation in recreational leisure activities (RLA) could be an effective vehicle for social inclusion and improvement - people's with disabilities health. Unfortunately, many barriers limit their participation in RLA. Interventions to improve access to RLA are often limited to therapeutic or adaptive sports in rehabilitation.

Beyond Exposure to Outdoor Nature: Exploration of the Benefits of a Green Building's Indoor Environment on Wellbeing.

Most research exploring the psychological benefits of the natural environment has focused on direct exposure to the outdoors. However, people spend most of their time indoors, particularly in office buildings. Poor employee mental health has become one the most prevalent and costly occupational health issues.

The role of clothing in participation of persons with a physical disability: a scoping review protocol.

Introduction: Clothing is an important aspect of nearly all human societies from performing social and cultural functions to indicating social status, a form of protection and a way for self-expression. It can help or hinder the ability to fulfil everyday activities and social roles and with the rising industry of wearable technologies, smart textiles are adding health-monitoring functions to clothing. The influence that clothing can have on the life of someone with a physical disability is significant, and further research is needed to understand it better.

Extent to Which Caregivers Enhance the Wheelchair Skills Capacity and Confidence of Power Wheelchair Users: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Objective: To test the hypothesis that caregivers enhance the wheelchair skills capacity and confidence of the power wheelchair users to whom they provide assistance, and to describe the nature of that assistance.

Design: Multicenter cross-sectional study.

Setting: Rehabilitation centers and communities.

Understanding the Burden Experienced by Caregivers of Older Adults Who Use a Powered Wheelchair: A Cross-Sectional Study.

In this study, we aimed to describe the burden of family caregivers providing powered wheelchair-related and overall assistance and test the hypotheses that caregiver burden correlates with participation, wheelchair skills capacity, anxiety, depression, and social support. Cross-sectional study. Participants included 35 family caregivers of powered wheelchair users.

Rehabilitation in the real-life environment of a shopping mall.

Aim: The aim of this study was to explore how shopping malls could be used during rehabilitation and to identify the facilitators and barriers to their use.

Method: Two focus groups, conducted with 15 rehabilitation professionals from various disciplines and working with people with disabilities of all ages were structured around two topics: (i) The usage of malls for rehabilitation and (ii) Factors that facilitate or limit rehabilitation professionals' use of the mall as an environment for clinical assessment and/or intervention.

Results: The thematic analysis revealed that shopping malls were used to achieve several rehabilitation goals targeting physical and cognitive skills, psychological health and socialization.

Creating an inclusive mall environment with the PRECEDE-PROCEED model: a living lab case study.

Purpose: Although public environments provide opportunities for participation and social inclusion, they are not always inclusive spaces and may not accommodate the wide diversity of people. The Rehabilitation Living Lab in the Mall is a unique, interdisciplinary, and multi-sectoral research project with an aim to transform a shopping complex in Montreal, Canada, into an inclusive environment optimizing the participation and social inclusion of all people.

Methods: The PRECEDE-PROCEDE Model (PPM), a community-oriented and participatory planning model, was applied as a framework.