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Purpose: This study aimed to assess the level of activity limitation, and the factors associated with it, among people affected by leprosy who were reporting at a leprosy referral centre of Purulia, in West Bengal state, India.

Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 358 individuals affected by leprosy. Persons recruited for this study were above 18 years of age, married, and had been diagnosed with leprosy for at least 1 year at the time of the interview. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to gather information about the respondents’ socio-economic and disease status. The Screening of Activity Limitation and Safety Awareness (SALSA) Scale was used to measure activity limitation.

Results: Of the 358 respondents, 59% were male, 60% were between 18 and 45 years of age, and 42% were illiterate. About 144 or 40% of the respondents had Grade 2 disability and 60% had disease duration of more than 3 years. There were 229 individuals (64%) who had no limitation in activities, 103 (29%) had mild limitation and 26 (7%) had moderate to severe limitation in activities. There is a significant association between gender, age, occupation, physical disability and disease duration with activity limitation.

Conclusion: It appears that limitations in activities among persons affected by leprosy are associated with being a woman, ahousewife, an aged person, and with longer disease duration. The physical disability was intrinsically associated with limitation in activities.

Purpose: Persons with disabilities affecting lower-limb function use ankle- foot-orthoses (AFO) and knee-ankle-foot-orthoses (KAFO) on a regular basis. However, the effectiveness of these devices in daily use is seldom evaluated, especially in the developing world. This study aimed to evaluate user satisfaction with lower-limb orthotic devices while performing a broad spectrum of daily life activities in Pakistan, and to document the desired outcomes.

Method: A survey was conducted among orthotic device users in the out-patient departments of three hospitals in Lahore, Pakistan. The survey questionnaire was devised by adapting the Prosthetic Evaluation Questionnaire to suit orthotics evaluation. Fifty-four AFO and KAFO users participated in the study.

Results: Most users felt comfortable while walking on even surfaces with their orthoses. However, donning/doffing these, climbing stairs and performing certain routine activities were considered problematic for most people. Energy conservation was the most desired AFO feature, while the KAFO users wanted automatic knee-joint function.

Conclusion and Implications: Overall satisfaction with the existing lower- limb orthoses is adequate. Yet, significant improvements are needed in terms of energy efficiency and comfort while walking on different terrains. Further research is required in order to improve the functioning of the existing orthotic devices.

Purpose: Development of Physical Therapy (PT) services for people with disability is one of the urgent challenges in the health sector in Papua New Guinea (PNG). However, information on the current status of PT services in PNG is scarce, as also is the case for the hospital-based outpatient PT services. This study aimed to describe the characteristics of outpatients receiving PT services in a provincial hospital in West New Britain (WNB) Province, PNG and to compare them with the characteristics of inpatients.

Method: This was a retrospective case study using outpatient and inpatient records. The records of clients receiving PT services as either outpatients (413 records, outpatient group) or inpatients (350 records, inpatient group) were reviewed in relation to sex, age and diagnosis. Comparisons were made between the two groups on basis of quantitative data of the two patient groups .

Results: The final analysis comprised 404 records in the outpatient group and 344 records in the inpatient group. In the outpatient group, injury and musculoskeletal disease were forming the most dominant diagnosis groups with 52.5% and 22.0%, respectively. Injury was most common in the age group 20 to 39 years and musculoskeletal diseases was most common in the age group 40 to 59 years. These two diagnosis groups and congenital malformations were significantly more represented among outpatients than among inpatients.

Conclusions: Young to middle-aged clients with injury or musculoskeletal disease were predominant among outpatient PT services as compared to inpatient services. The study findings serve to provide information on the current situation and potential needs of hospital-based outpatient PT services in one provincial hospital of PNG. These findings could be the base for planning outpatient PT service in WNB Province and PNG.

Purpose: To identify facilitators of and barriers to the coordination of return-to-work between the primary care services, the employee, and the employers from the perspective of coordinators and employees on sick leave due to common mental disorders (CMDs).Material and methods:

Descriptive qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eighteen coordinators and nine employees on sick leave due to CMDs. The Consolidated Framework for implementation Research (CFIR) was used as a starting point for the interview guides and in the thematic analysis of data.

Results: The results show facilitators and barriers related to the CFIR domains“intervention characteristics,” outer setting,” inner setting,” and“characteristics of individuals.”Positive attitudes, an open dialogue in a three-party meeting, and a common ground for the sick leave process at the primary care centre facilitated coordination, while an unclear packaging, conflicts at the employee’s workplace, and a lack of team-based work were examples of barriers.

Conclusion: The results indicate a need for the detailed packaging of coordination; formalization of coordinators’ qualifications and levels of training; and acknowledgment of the role of organizational factors in the implementation of coordination. This is important to further develop and evaluate the efficacy of coordination.

Purpose:

Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) was first identified in December 2019 with millions of cases reported globally in the succeeding months. Initial hospitalisation strives to minimise multisystem organ failure and of those that survive, individuals can present with profound rehabilitation needs. The purpose of this case series is to describe occupational therapy (OT) and special technology considerations for three male Veteran patients hospitalised with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. 

Methods: 

This is a descriptive case series using a retrospective electronic health record review at a Veterans Administration hospital. The case series includes three male Veterans with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 (ages 69–78) who were referred to OT. The cases were selected to demonstrate the novel use of technology and strategies to reduce the risk of transmission. In two of three of our cases, we describe acute rehabilitation with a focus on activity tolerance, participation in occupations, and discharge planning. In all cases, we measured vital signs and activity tolerance as primary outcomes. 

Results and conclusions: 

The findings suggest that outcome measures focussing on activity tolerance to maintain stable vital signs during the recovery phase is central to the progression of activities. We observed in our cases that the Person-Environment-Occupation-Performance (PEOP) model can guide practice and complement the medical model in management of these patients. We utilised technology to engage family members in the rehabilitation care and minimise exposure risks.

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