OBJECTIVE Change in psychophysical capacity, calculated as the ratio between physical capacity and perceived effort, may be a determinant of change in perceived disability. The aim of this study was to identify determinants for change in perceived disability, as measured with the Roland Morris Disability Questionnaire (RMDQ), in patients with non-specific chronic low back pain after rehabilitat...

In this paper, I review the way in which the legislative framework in the United Kingdom has defined epilepsy. Key legislative milestones in the last 100 years, and their implications for epilepsy, are discussed; as are some landmark legal rulings. The implications of the UK Disability Discrimination Act 1995 for people with epilepsy and barriers to the Act's effectiveness are considered, as ar...

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) considers tinnitus a disability. Veterans can claim tinnitus as a "service-connected" disability if the tinnitus is thought to be connected to military service. The VA adjudicates each claim and determines whether reasonable evidence exists to support it. Currently, determining the presence of tinnitus is based on subjective reporting-objective measures d...

OBJECTIVE To investigate diagnosis-specific sick leave as a risk marker for subsequent disability pension. DESIGN A prospective population based cohort study. Exposure to a new medically certified sick leave episode of more than seven days by diagnosis during 1985 was examined in relation to incident cause-specific disability pension through 1996. PARTICIPANTS The total non-retired populati...

BACKGROUND The decision to grant a disability pension is usually the end of a long process of medical examinations, treatment and rehabilitation attempts. This study investigates to what extent the time spent on rehabilitation time prior to disability pension is associated with characteristics of the individual or the local employment and welfare office, measured as municipality variance. MET...

Healthcare is a context where individuals with disability confront important ethical and social challenges. Adolescents and young adults with cerebral palsy (CP) seem to face additional challenges but we have little insight into their perspectives. This qualitative study aimed to identify and better understand such challenges. We interviewed 14 participants with CP aged 18 to 25. Participants d...

BACKGROUND The aims of this study were to determine self-rated oral health and dental attendance habits among Swedish adults, with special reference to the role of social inequalities, after the Swedish dental care reform in 2008. METHODS The study is based on a survey questionnaire, sent to 12,235 residents of a Swedish county, in 2012. The age group was 16-84 years: 5,999 (49%) responded. U...

This study tested the hypothesis that personal characteristics, when profiled by performance on MMPI-2 scales related to attention-seeking behavior through somatization, would differ between compensable personal injury claimants who choose to go to litigation and those who choose not to litigate. The authors examined the MMPI-2 profiles and other file data, including type and severity of injury...

The onset of bathing disability among older people is critical for a decline in functioning and has implications for both the individuals' quality of life and societal costs. The aim of this study was to evaluate long-term cost effectiveness of an intervention targeting bathing disability among older people. For hypothetical cohorts of community-dwelling older people with bathing disability, tr...

BACKGROUND The involvement of patients in research better aligns evidence generation to the gaps that patients themselves face when making decisions about health care. However, obtaining patients' perspectives is challenging. Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk) has gained popularity over the past decade as a crowdsourcing platform to reach large numbers of individuals to perform tasks for a small ...