The Individual Rehabilitation Project as the core of person-centered rehabilitation: the Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine Section and Board of the European Union of Medical Specialists Framework for Rehabilitation in Europe.

To facilitate the interaction between the health professional and the patient, a framework to guide the rehabilitation process is needed. This framework would encompass three interwoven aspects: the rehabilitation management plan, Individual Rehabilitation Project (IRP), and rehabilitation cycle(s). All three framework aspects focus on the patient and on the aim of rehabilitation, i.e. to optimize a person's functioning across the continuum of care. An IRP is a multi-element, person-centered rehabilitation management scheme, in which rehabilitation is generally provided by a multiprofessional team under the leadership of a physical and rehabilitation medicine (PRM) physician, working in an interdisciplinary manner and together with the patient (or proxy). A reference system for operationalizing functioning and standardizing the process is the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) - for assessing functioning needs, defining rehabilitation goals and outcomes. The objective of this paper is to present the IRP as a framework for rehabilitation in Europe (EUR-IRP). The specific aims are: 1) to introduce the IRP; and 2) to describe the framework components, elements and variables of the IRP. Demonstration projects (case studies) using the EUR-IRP will be conducted. The present paper presents the efforts to date for developing the EUR-IRP, a key part of the action plan of the PRM Section and Board of the European Union of Medical Specialists to implement the ICF systemwide across the care continuum. This paper serves as another step to bring together practice, science and governance in calling for contribution from rehabilitation clinicians and researchers and professional societies in PRM and beyond.

Disability, pain catastrophizing and stress coping of patients with low back pain in rehabilitation practice in Latvia.

BACKGROUND: It is known that pain has emotional and behavioral consequences that influence the development of problems and outcome of treatment. Patients' attitudes and coping mechanisms seem to play a causal role in the chronification of low back pain (LBP) and augment a cycle of chronic pain and disability. OBJECTIVE: To examine pain catastrophizing, stress coping strategies and disability among patients with low back pain in rehabilitation practice in Latvia. METHODS: Seventy-four patients participated in the study. We used the Demographic questionnaire, Visual Analogue Scale, The Oswestry Low Back Disability Questionnaire, Pain Catastrophizing Scale and "The Ways of Coping scale". RESULTS: According to our data there is a strong interrelationship of disability and pain catastrophizing. The research data shows significantly higher scores of pain catastrophizing in patients with a more severe disability. CONCLUSIONS: Achieved research highlights the importance of a multifactorial approach to pain management and the enormous significance of pain catastrophizing in patients with low back pain.

A profile of traumatic spinal cord injury and medical complications in Latvia.

STUDY DESIGN: A single centre retrospective study. OBJECTIVES: To collect data and analyse the epidemiological profile of traumatic spinal cord injury and its medical complications during the subacute rehabilitation period. SETTING: Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation Programme of the National Rehabilitation Centre, 'Vaivari', Jurmala, Latvia. METHODS: Information was collected in 2015 from the medical records of 134 patients with a traumatic spinal cord injury admitted for primary rehabilitation between January 2011 and December 2014. RESULTS: During this period, the median age of patients with a traumatic spinal cord injury was 39.5 years, and the male to female ratio was 5:1. The leading causes of traumatic spinal cord injuries were falls (37%), road traffic accidents (29%), sport and leisure activities (19%), other cause (8%), unidentified causes (5%), and assault (2%). The most common medical complications were pain (77%), spasticity (48%), urinary tract infections (45%), pressure ulcers (25%), and orthostatic hypotension (14%). CONCLUSIONS: Preventive measures in Latvia should be aimed primarily to address falls, road traffic accidents, and sport and leisure activities in the young male population. Medical complications are varied, and they are an important factor following traumatic spinal cord injury. The results obtained in this study comply with the data from studies in countries of the Baltic and North Sea regions of Europe.