iran is a large country with a total area of 1,645,000 square kilometers. the country’s population is estimated at about 31 millions. there is an uneven distribution of the population, varying from 2 to 50 per square kilometer. sixty per cent of the total population (18 millions) is living in nearly 66,000 small and large village’s scattered throughout the country. a total of 10,000 physicians ...

Onchocerciasis or river blindness, a major cause of irreversible blindness among adults, has been the focus of international disease control efforts for over 20 years in West Africa. This paper employs the international classification of impairment, disability and handicap (ICIDH) to interpret results from a field study to assess the socioeconomic consequences of onchocerciasis in Guinea in 198...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Handicap, although more relevant to the patient than impairment or disability, has received little attention in people with stroke. The aim of this study was to identify, in an unselected population, factors determining handicap at 2 years after stroke. METHODS All first-ever cases of stroke in a population of 306 631 over a 1-year period were assessed. Stroke severity,...

OBJECTIVE To determine the prevalence rates of morbidity in the general population through bibliographic research. METHODS Articles relating to impairment, disability, handicap, quality of life and their prevalence in the general population, published between January 1990 and March 1998, were selected on the MEDLINE database. FINDINGS The 20 articles retained out of 433 used 41 different in...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) data are scarce from unselected populations. The aims were to assess HRQoL at 2 years poststroke, to identify determinants of HRQoL in stroke survivors, and to identify predictors at stroke onset of subsequent HRQoL. METHODS All first-ever cases of stroke in a population of 306 631 over a 1-year period were assessed. Stroke severit...

Background and Purpose—Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) data are scarce from unselected populations. The aims were to assess HRQoL at 2 years poststroke, to identify determinants of HRQoL in stroke survivors, and to identify predictors at stroke onset of subsequent HRQoL. Methods—All first-ever cases of stroke in a population of 306 631 over a 1-year period were assessed. Stroke severity,...

Chronic handicap in early life may have a long-term impact on children's psychosocial well-being. Here, we investigated whether Brachialis Plexus Birth Injury (BPBI)-an unpredictable injury at birth-is associated with worse mental health later on, as indicated by prescription and use of psychotropic drugs in adolescence. We explored further whether this association is different depending on soc...