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Community Integration (community + integration)
Selected AbstractsThe Reliability, Validity and Practical Utility of Measuring Supports using the I-CAN Instrument: Part IIJOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 4 2009Vivienne C. Riches Background, There is an urgent need for developing reliable, valid and practical instruments that assess and classify the support needed by persons with disability to function in their chosen living, working and social environments. I-CAN is an instrument that addresses the frequency and level of support needed (not individual skills or deficits) for each individual with a disability. Method, Studies were conducted to assess the test,retest reliability and inter-rater reliability. Concurrent validity was investigated by exploring the relationship between the I-CAN domain scales and the Inventory for Client and Agency Planning (ICAP) (Bruininks et al. 1986) and the Quality of Life Questionnaire (QOL-Q) (Schalock & Keith 1993). Predictive validity studies were undertaken using day- and night-time support hours. Regression analyses were run using these measures with I-CAN domain scales. Two independent studies were also conducted to ascertain the practical utility of the instrument. Results, The I-CAN instrument demonstrated excellent inter-rater and test,retest reliability in the Activities and Participation domains. Low-to-moderate test,retest results in Physical Health, Mental Emotional Health and Behaviour domains were tracked to actual change in support needs in these areas. Validity proved acceptable. The relationships between I-CAN domain scales and adaptive behaviour were mixed but in the expected direction. Low-to-moderate correlation coefficients were evident between the I-CAN scales and the QOL-Q Total, but greater support needed in certain domains was associated with less empowerment and independence, and less community integration and social belonging. Attempts to explain current support hours against the I-CAN scales were disappointing and suggest that a number of other factors apart from individual support need to play a significant role. There was general satisfaction with the assessment process from stakeholders and participant groups. Conclusions, I-CAN is a reliable, valid and user-friendly instrument for assessing the support needs of people with disabilities. It uses a process that involves the persons with disability, their family and friends and staff as appropriate. It is also apparent that the current provision of paid support hours by agencies is a complex phenomenon that is not based solely on individual support needs. Further research is warranted on the influence of the environment and the perceptions of need for support based on negotiable and non-negotiable support needs. [source] Residential Facilities in the Community for People with Intellectual Disabilities: How Neighbours' Perceptions are Affected by the Interaction of Facility and Neighbour VariablesJOURNAL OF APPLIED RESEARCH IN INTELLECTUAL DISABILITIES, Issue 2 2001C. Schwartz The present paper reports a study of neighbours' perceptions of community-based residential facilities for people with intellectual disabilities (IDs). Whereas earlier studies have researched the effect of single variables, the present paper breaks new ground by taking a multidimensional perspective. It analyses neighbourhood acceptance as a variable explainable by interactions between facility variables and the nature of the neighbourhood population itself. Two hundred and eight neighbours of 36 urban community facilities for people with IDs were surveyed, plus the facility managers. The individual characteristics of the neighbours which were found to relate to facility impact included: having young children at home; having a disabled family member; knowing that the neighbourhood contained a facility; and visiting the facility. Pertinent facility variables were: size, degree of supervision, and the pre- and post-entry strategies used by managers to gain local acceptance for the facility. Most importantly, the present study found that none of these variables can be considered or used in isolation. The direction of their effect can be positive or negative according to the variables which they interact with. Theoretical aspects of the findings are discussed and interventions are suggested which might improve the community integration of people with IDs. [source] Development of a measure of sense of community for individuals with serious mental illness residing in community settingsJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2009Greg Townley The psychological sense of community is one of the most commonly investigated constructs in community psychology. Sense of community may be particularly important for individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) because they often face societal barriers to participation in community living, including stigma and discrimination. To date, no published studies have investigated the psychometric qualities of sense of community measures among individuals with SMI. The current study tested a series of confirmatory factor analyses using the Brief Sense of Community Index (Long & Perkins, 2003) in a sample of 416 persons with SMI living in community settings to suggest a model of sense of community for individuals with SMI and other disabilities. The resulting scale, the Brief Sense of Community Index-Disability, demonstrated good model fit and construct validity. Implications are discussed for how this scale may be used in research investigating community integration and adaptive functioning in community settings. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Measuring perceived community support: Factorial structure, longitudinal invariance, and predictive validity of the PCSQ (perceived community support questionnaire)JOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 2 2007Juan Herrero Social support from intimate and confiding relationships has received a great deal of attention; however, the study of the community as a relevant source of support has been comparatively lacking. In this article, we present a multidimensional measure of community support (Perceived Community Support Questionnaire, PCSQ). Through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on data from three samples of adult population (two-wave panel: sample 1, N = 1009 and sample 2, N = 780; and an independent sample 3, N = 440), results show that community integration, community participation, and use of community organizations are reliable indicators of the underlying construct of perceived community support. Also, community support is associated with a reduction of depressive symptoms after 6 months, once autoregression is controlled for. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] A longitudinal study of mental health consumer/survivor initiatives: Part 3,A qualitative study of impacts of participation on new membersJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2006Joanna Ochocka This article examines the outcomes of participation in mental health Consumer/Survivor Initiatives (CSIs) and identifies helpful qualities of CSIs through a longitudinal, qualitative study that involved in-depth interviews of people who experienced severe mental health challenges in Ontario, Canada. We used a nonequivalent control group design in which we compared active participants in CSIs ( n = 15) with nonactive participants ( n = 12) at baseline and at 9- and 18-month follow-up intervals. Compared with non-CSI participants, CSI participants reported more stable mental health, enhanced social support, sustained work, stable income, and participation in education and training at 9- and 18-month interviews. The helpful qualities of CSIs that participants reported were (1) safe environments that provide a positive, welcoming place to go; (2) social arenas that provide opportunities to meet and talk with peers; (3) an alternative worldview that provides opportunities for members to participate and contribute; and (4) effective facilitators of community integration that provide opportunities to connect members to the community at large. The findings are discussed in terms of previous research in self-help and consumer-run organizations in mental health. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Psychosocial empowerment and social support factors associated with the employment status of immigrant welfare recipientsJOURNAL OF COMMUNITY PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2005Manuel Garcia-Ramirez We analyzed the role that psychosocial empowerment and social support factors play in the employment status of immigrants who participate in jobreadiness programs financed by the European Social Funds and the Welfare Services of Andalusia, a region in the south of Spain. The goal of these programs is to find new ways to improve immigrants' social,labor participation and community integration. By means of a logistical regression analysis applied to data obtained in interviews with 188 participants, a predictor model of psychosocial factors associated with employment status was obtained. Significant psychological empowerment factors included having a positive professional self-concept, having an internal attribution of causality of employment, and having an active job search. Ability to depend on both compatriots and members of the host country in one's support network and the advice and information received from them was a significant factor in social support. Suggestions for future program development include increasing the use of psychosocial resources in interventions designed to improve immigrants' employment status. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comm Psychol 33: 673,690, 2005. [source] Impact of caring for a school-aged child with a disability: Understanding mothers' perspectivesAUSTRALIAN OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY JOURNAL, Issue 2 2010Helen Bourke-Taylor Aim:,Children with a disability are reliant on a capable, healthy and well-resourced carer. Most often the child's mother provides the care that ensures the child's health, service access and community integration are attended to successfully. Through in-depth interviews with mothers and professionals, this study explores issues that challenge the mother's performance in her very important role as a caregiver. Method:,Qualitative methodology(n = 8)resulted in verbatim transcriptions that were analysed and categorised, and common themes were derived. Results:,Participants identified a multitude of challenges related to issues surrounding the child, maternal characteristics, the family, services and the community. Emotional distress and mental health issues were reported. Conclusion:,Many aspects of caregiving can be relentless and challenging. Occupational therapy clinical implications aimed at supporting mothers and their children are discussed. [source] | ||||||||||