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Kanak – kanak kurang upaya memerlukan pemulihan yang komprehensif dan berterusan. Pusat Pemulihan dalm Komuniti (PDK) telah dibina untuk memenuhi keperluan ini dan telah memberi manfaat kepada semua peringkat umur dalam kalangan masyarakat bandar dan luar bandar. Di Malaysia, kerajaan telah membiayai sebahagian besar pemulihan kanak – kanak kurang upaya di PDK. Walau bagaimanapun, setakat ini kajian mengenai keberhasilan PDK untuk kanak – kanak kurang upaya di negara ini amat terhad. Kajian ini bertujuan menentukan keberhasilan program pemulihan serta mengenalpasti faktor-faktor yang berkaitan dengannya dalam kalangan kanak-kanak kurang upaya di PDK. Sejumlah 220 orang kanak – kanak kurang upaya berumur 4 hingga 18 tahun dan 220 penjaga daripada 29 pusat PDK di Pahang, Terengganu dan Kelantan telah menyertai kajian. Keberhasilan program ditentukan dari aspek perubahan tahap keupayaan dalam aktiviti harian menggunakan Indeks Barthel selepas 6 bulan menjalani PDK. Faktor berkait yang dikaji ialah umur, jenis kurang upaya, skor asas Indeks Barthel, jenis program yang diikuti dan kekerapan kehadiran ke sesi terapi. Hasil kajian menunjukkan terdapat peningkatan kecil dalam Indeks Barthel, min perubahan ± SP bersamaan 0.90 ± 4.54 (p=0.003) selepas pemulihan. Tahap kehadiran ke sesi terapi adalah rendah iaitu < 50% menunjukkan kehadiran tiga perempat atau penuh dari keseluruhan sesi terapi yang ditawarkan. Semua faktor yang dikaji didapati tidak mempunyai kaitan dengan perubahan skor Indeks Barthel (p>0.05) kecuali jenis program yang diikuti (r=0.14, p=0.03). Sebagai kesimpulan, keberhasilan pemulihan yang diperolehi melalui PDK amat kecil bagi tempoh latihan yang dijalani. Implementasi program perlu dinilai dan ditambahbaik bagi meningkatkan manfaatnya terhadap kanak-kanak kurang upaya.

Involvement of informal carer in post-stroke care is important to prevent development of secondary complications particularly among stroke survivors with severe disability. However, to date, evidence on the benefit of stroke care training and involving carer to assist in the care for this group of stroke survivors is still limited. In this study, we evaluated the outcome of a carer-assisted care program for stroke survivors with severe disability who live at home. Sixteen stroke survivors with severe disability and 16 primary carers participated in this pre-test post-test intervention study. Carers were trained using a stroke care module which was developed by a group of multidisciplinary researchers from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, prior to implementing the daily care for 8 weeks. Outcome of care on stroke survivors was assessed in term of change in disability level and quality of life using Modified Barthel Index (MBI) and EuroQol health-state measure (EQ-5D and EQ-VAS), respectively. While outcome of stroke care training on carer was determined using Modified Caregiver Strain Index (MCSI). Significant improvement is shown in the stroke survivors’ EQ-VAS component of EuroQol health state measure (average increase by 12%, t = 2.86, p = 0.01) following the care. Although not statistically significant (t = 0.97; p = 0.35), the mean score of MCSI reduced by 14%. No significant change was found in the MBI of the stroke survivors at completion of the program. Carer-assisted care is useful in improving quality of life of stroke survivors and can potentially reduce stress level among carers. Larger study may assist in establishing these preliminary findings.

Despite being becoming popular and heavily used in rehabilitation, the evidence on the effectiveness of Virtual reality-based therapy (VRBT) among persons with knee osteoarthritis (OA) remains limited. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of VRBT on walking endurance and quality of life of older persons with knee OA in comparison to conventional exercise therapy. This was a randomised controlled trial involving 44 participants (mean age and standard deviation = 66.32 + 5.73 years) who received either a VRBT (experimental group, n=22) or a conventional exercise therapy (control group, n=22) for 45 minutes, twice per week for 12 weeks. The outcome of both therapies on walking endurance was measured using Six-minute Walk Test (6MWT), while quality of life was assessed using the Malay-version of Short Form-36 (SF-36). Analysis was done by ‘intention-to-treat’ approach, using Mixed Model ANOVA. A significant time-effect (p < 0.05), with large effect size between 0.54 and 1.0 were found for all outcomes following the therapies. An increase of 17% and 19% of 6MWT scores were obtained in experimental and control group, respectively. Meanwhile, the scores for the physical and mental components of the SF-36 increased by 37.8% and 19.4% in the experimental group, and 45.7% and 20.6% in the control group. However, no significant group and interaction effects were found for all outcomes. In conclusion, VRBT is comparable with c onventional exercise therapy in improving walking endurance and quality of life of persons with knee OA, and can be used as a therapy option for this population. DOI : http://dx.doi.org./10.17576/JSKM-2019-1702-13

Enhancement of physical function had been shown in older adults who actively participate in physical activities, particularly in the form of aerobic training with addition of progressive resistance training (PRT). However, it is quite challenging and risky for most older adults to exercise in standing position without any support. Chair Based Exercise (CBE) is an alternative mode of exercise for older adult to facilitate exercise participation and increase safety. Its effect when combined with resistance training is unknown to date. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of CBE with PRT on physical performances among older adults. A total of 18 older adults (13 females (72%) and 5 males (28%)), aged 60 to 83 years with mean age (SD) 72.67 (6.17) years completed the study. All subjects performed CBE with PRT intervention twice weekly for 8 weeks, with individually-tailored exercise progressions . Pre and post measurements of physical performance were performed using Six MinutesWalk Test (6MWT), Five Times Sit to Stand (FTSTS) and Hand Grip Strength (HGS). Significant improvement in 6MWT (p < .001), HGS (Right hand (p = .043), HGS Left hand (p < .001), FTSTS (p < .001) was shown after the eight-week intervention. Adding PRT into seated exercises results in further improvement in physical performance of older adults. CBE-PRT may be recommended as an exercise routine for older adults living in the community. DOI : http://dx.doi.org./10.17576/JSKM-2018-22

Falls is one of the main problems in older adults, which indirectly contributes to deterioration of quality of life, morbidity and mortality. The purpose of this study was to examine the difference in values between timed up and go (TUG) and gait speed tests among community dwelling older adults with high and low risk of falls classified using PPA (Physiological Profile Assessment). This cross-sectional study involved 278 older adults aged between 60 to 88 years, recruited from senior citizen club around Klang Valley. 40.6% older adults had high risk of falls and mostly were women (75%). The results of the study showed that there was a significant (p

Neurophobia, defined as ‘the fear of neural sciences and neurology’ is reported among medical students, which threatened their performance in neurology course. This phenomenon has not been studied among rehabilitation sciences students despite the significance of neurology as an area for rehabilitation. In this study we aim to assess the perceptions of neurology course and the possibility of neurophobia existence among rehabilitation sciences students of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM). We also aimed to identify learning methods which are regarded as useful among the students. A survey using self-administered questionnaires was conducted among 73 students from School of Rehabilitation Sciences of the university. Questions in the questionnaire were adapted from previous studies, in which neurophobia was indicated by poor knowledge and low confidence level in managing neurology course. Results showed that the percentage of participants who perceived having good knowledge of neurology was significantly higher than the percentage who claimed of having poor knowledge level (90.4% versus 9.6%, p < 0.01). Similarly, the percentage of participants who claimed having high confidence to handle neurology cases was higher than the percentage who expressed lack of confidence (79.2% versus 20.8%, p = 0.03). However, neurology course was perceived as difficult by majority of the participants (78.1%) when compared to other courses. Majority of the participants (97.3%) perceived clinical teaching as a useful method of learning rehabilitation science courses including neurology followed by problem-based learning (90.4%). While limited exposure to neurology cases was claimed as the main reason to why neurology is difficult. In conclusion, although neurology is perceived as a difficult course among rehabilitation sciences students, the students did not report lack of knowledge and confidence in the course. This implies that neurophobia does not exist among UKM rehabilitation students. Enhancement of learning methods may assist in reducing the level of difficulty of neurology course among the students. DOI : http://dx.doi.org./10.17576/JSKM-2018-27