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Purpose: The study investigated the experience of community (re)integration from the perspective of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) within 12 months of discharge from a specialist spinal injuries unit in New Zealand (NZ). Method: Nine participants were interviewed. The verbatim transcripts were analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Results: Three main themes were: Leaving, Not Coping with a Capital C, and Power and Control. Leaving related to the process of planning for, and discharge from the spinal unit. Not Coping with a Capital C incorporated the coping and adjustment to life following a SCI, including the role of hope. Power and Control denoted the alteration in balance of power and control following SCI which was evident both in the rehabilitation facility and within the wider community setting. Conclusions: The results indicated that the spinal unit may not adequately equip the recovering person with SCI for life in the real world. Individuals with SCI returning to the community remained hopeful of recovery of function and or cure; this focus, particularly on physical rehabilitation, potentially reduced their availability for other forms of community reintegration such as work and leisure activities.

Purpose. This paper reports on a 3-month post-discharge falls profile of a cohort of patients discharged home from an acute rehabilitation setting. Methods. A consecutively-sampled cohort of consenting patients was prospectively followed for 3 months after discharge from a large Australian metropolitan acute rehabilitation facility. Patients were diagnostically classified by the reason for admission. All patients completed a monthly falls diary. Each month, falls were described by severity, location, frequency and outcome. Patients also completed the World Health Organisation's quality of life (QoL-BREF) at Months 1 and 3. Results. Almost a third of the study participants fell during the study [105 fallers of 342 total (31)]. Of these, 21 fell more than once (20). There were significant differences in falls reported per diagnostic group, including frequency, impact, severity and ability to get up. Irrespective of diagnostic group, fallers had lower QoL scores compared to non-fallers. Both the neurological and orthopaedic trauma groups were most at risk of falling in Months 1 and 3, whereas in Month 2, only the neurological group was most at risk of falling. Conclusion. Falls are a fact of life for some patients during their community rehabilitation phase. Patients from different diagnostic groups have different over-time risk profiles for falling. Thus, there is no 'one-size fits all' solution for falls prevention. This study provides useful data to assist in formulating appropriate falls prevention strategies for recently ill people. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

To describe functioning and health of elderly patients in an early post-acute rehabilitation facility and to identify the most common problems using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).Cross-sectional survey in a convenience sample of elderly patients requiring rehabilitation in an early post-acute rehabilitation facility. The second-level categories of the ICF were used to collect information on patients' problems. For the ICF components Body Functions, Body Structures and Activities and Participation, absolute and relative frequencies of impairments/limitations in the study population were reported. For the component Environmental Factors absolute and relative frequencies of perceived barriers or facilitators were reported.The mean age in the sample was 79.9 years. Sixty-nine percent of the patients were female. In 150 patients, 82 ICF categories (34%) had a prevalence of 30% or above. The 82 categories included 22 categories (45%) of the component Body Functions, six categories (15%) of the component Body Structures, 25 categories (34%) of the component Activities and Participation and 29 (57%) categories of the component Environmental Factors.This study is a first step towards the development of ICF Core Sets for geriatric patients in early post-acute rehabilitation facilities.