Relationship between employment and adaptive video gaming in individuals with physical disabilities.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess employment characteristics of individuals with physical disabilities who currently participate in adaptive gaming and determine if there is a positive association between adaptive gaming and employment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A survey was administered to individuals with disabilities who currently use adaptive video gaming equipment to gather information on demographics, gaming habits, employment characteristics, and subjective benefits of gaming on employment. RESULTS: The study included 606 participants. Over 57% of participants reported full-time or part-time employment. Nearly half of the participants reported using their equipment either most or all of the time to complete tasks related to work. Participants using their equipment to complete work tasks most or all of the time were more likely to be employed full-time (p = 0.0021). Over 75% of participants reported subjective benefits of adaptive video gaming on their employment. CONCLUSION: Participants in this study had higher rates of employment compared to national averages for individuals with physical disabilities. More frequent use of adaptive gaming equipment for work was associated with a higher likeliness of full-time employment. Most participants who were employed reported subjective benefits of adaptive gaming on employment through improvements in mental health, physical function, and cognition.

Participation in recreational activities has been shown to be associated with increased rates of employment for individuals with physical disabilities.Employment rates for those who participate in adaptive video gaming were found to be higher compared to individuals with disabilities in the general population.Adaptive video gaming may lead to increased rates of employment through improvement in mental health, physical function, and cognition.

A preliminary study on the respiratory benefits of adaptive video gaming in individuals with cervical spinal cord injuries.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to collect preliminary data to assess whether participation in adaptive video gaming using a pneumatic sip-and-puff video game controller may provide respiratory or health benefits for individuals with cervical-level spinal cord injuries. METHODS: A survey was anonymously distributed to potential participants and consisted of four sections: (1) General Information, (2) Gaming Habits, (3) Respiratory Quality of Life, and (4) Impact of Adaptive Video Gaming on Respiratory Health. RESULTS: The study included 124 individuals with cervical-level spinal cord injuries. Participants had primarily positive self-rated health and good respiratory quality of life. Nearly half of the participants (47.6%) Agreed or Strongly Agreed that their breathing control has improved after using their sip-and-puff gaming controller and 45.2% Agreed or Strongly Agreed that their respiratory health has improved. Individuals who Agreed or Strongly Agreed that adaptive video gaming has improved their breathing control also reported a significantly higher level of exertion while gaming compared to those who did not Agree or Strongly Agree (p = 0.00029). CONCLUSIONS: It is possible that there are respiratory benefits of using sip-and-puff video game controllers for individuals with cervical spinal cord injuries. The benefits reported by users were found to be dependent on their level of exertion while playing video games. Further exploration in this area is needed due to the positive benefits reported by participants.Implications for RehabilitationPneumatic sip-and-puff video game controllers are now available for individuals with cervical spinal cord injuries allowing them to play video games using their respiratory function.For individuals with cervical spinal cord injuries, respiratory function is an important component to overall health and quality of life.This study shows that pneumatic sip-and-puff video game controllers may provide respiratory benefits to participant with cervical spinal cord injuries.

Scoping Review of Interventions and Experiences Increasing Medical Student Interest in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

ABSTRACT: Increasing medical student exposure to physical medicine and rehabilitation is an important factor for future growth of the field. Therefore, it is important to determine which types of interventions during medical school have the greatest impact on medical students' decision to pursue a career in physical medicine and rehabilitation. The purpose of this study is to perform a scoping review of the current literature that has analyzed how different interventions and experiences impact medical school students' decision to pursue a career in physical medicine and rehabilitation. A systematic and comprehensive search strategy was implemented across five different journal databases and yielded 18 articles meeting the inclusion criteria. Most studies analyzing specific interventions looked only at presurvey and postsurvey comparisons of the immediate impact of the intervention on interest in physical medicine and rehabilitation, and few looked at longitudinal outcomes, such as match characteristics. The most frequently cited factor that was shown to positively impact interest in physical medicine and rehabilitation was early exposure. Participating in clinical rotations also had a positive impact but was most effective when combined with early exposure. This review highlights the need for national recommendations for integrating physical medicine and rehabilitation into all 4 yrs of medical education.

Influence of adaptive video gaming on quality of life and social relationships.

In recent years, the field of adaptive video gaming has been growing rapidly. However, its acceptance as an integral service within the rehabilitation field has been slow to develop and no studies have examined the benefits of providing adaptive gaming services for individuals with disabilities. 110 participants with 6 months or more of adaptive gaming experience took part in a self-administered survey which comprised of questions assessing gaming habits, quality of life, and social relationships. Most participants either Agreed or Strongly Agreed that adaptive gaming has had a significant positive influence on their quality of life (90.9%), satisfaction with life (87.3%), and social relationships (67.2%). Two thirds of participants reported using their adaptive equipment for tasks other than gaming. Individuals who game more often, and with others, had significantly higher Social Relationship scores (p = 0.007; p = 0.044), and gaming frequency had a significant positive correlation with the overall influence of adaptive gaming (p = 0.002). There are possible quality of life and social benefits from participation in adaptive gaming, as well as translation to functional tasks. Furthermore, gaming more frequently, gaming with others, and using adaptive gaming equipment for other tasks seems to correlate with greater benefits from adaptive gaming.

Finite element analysis of the rotator cuff: A systematic review.

BACKGROUND: Finite element modeling serves as a promising tool for investigating underlying rotator cuff biomechanics and pathology. However, there are currently no concrete guidelines for reporting in finite element model studies. This has compromised the reliability, validity, and reproducibility of literature due to omission of pertinent items within publications. Recently a Finite Element Model Grading Procedure has been proposed as a reporting guideline for model developers. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review of rotator cuff focused finite element models and characterize the reporting quality of those articles. METHODS: A comprehensive literature search was performed in PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase to find relevant articles. Each article was graded and given a reporting quality ranking based on a score generated from the Finite Element Model Grading Procedure. FINDINGS: We found that only 5/22 articles had scores of 75% or higher and fell within the "exceptional" reporting quality range. Most of the articles (16/22) fell within the "good" reporting quality range with scores between 50% and 75%. However, 9/16 articles within the "good" reporting quality range had scores below 60%. INTERPRETATION: This study indicates that improved guidelines and standards for good reporting practices must be made in the field of finite element modeling. Furthermore, it supports the use of the Finite Element Model Grading Procedure as an objective method for evaluating the quality of finite element model reporting in the literature.