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"The International Federation for Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus (IF) together with the European Disability Forum (EDF) and the European Patients Forum (EPF) conducted a survey among their networks to assess the impact of the Directive 2011/24/EU on the application of patients’ rights in cross border healthcare (crossborder healthcare Directive) on persons with disabilities and chronic conditions in the EU. The findings of the survey showed low awareness and low use of the Directive. A vast majority of 85% has never used crossborder healthcare even though 69% of respondents might have used it had they received information about it. Approximately three quarters (77%) of respondents have never heard about the Directive" 

"This report maps the situation of persons with SBH in relation to healthcare access and is a follow up of the CRPD Concluding Observations Art.25. Through a comprehensive survey, IF collected valuable data on the experiences, satisfaction, and perceptions of healthcare coverage of individuals with SBH across Europe. Based on its findings, the financial coverage of treatment and assistive products for patients with SBH is grossly insufficient across the EU. Europe as a whole lacks multidisciplinary care and specialised SBH teams, which translates into long waiting times and insufficient knowledge of the SBH specificities. 

Considering these findings, IF urges the EU Member States to adequately support the healthcare needs of persons with SBH, and to invest more substantially into creating multidisciplinary clinics that can help avoid preventable complications 11 and may reduce the overall burden 12 on the patient and the system. In addition, the Member States should actively support creation of the European Reference Networks as a way of improving care for persons with SBH. IF also calls on the European institutions for support in training medical professionals on rights of persons with disabilities."

This book offers concrete ideas and examples to those interested in driving a radically different approach to supporting people with dementia and their families. "We have explored a number of approaches with people who have been leading their development. We have been keen to look at both approaches that emerge from working directly to improve support for people with dementia and others that have different roots, but we think are potentially very transferable. None of the approaches is yet being used at any significant scale". Discussions and examples are all UK based. There is an introduction detailing current problems and issues with care and support for people with dementia. 10 approaches are described for housing and support, 4 concerned with enabling people to have good days and 7 associated with enabling people to connect with their community. 

Purpose: Although cerebrovascular accident is a leading cause of mortality in the Philippines, there has never been a national survey of stroke client descriptors and rehabilitation practices. This paper reports on data from the audit of stroke care for inpatients in hospitals serviced by physiatrists.

Method: Audit was done of the medical records of stroke clients admitted to hospitals with rehabilitation units. Performance indicators for timely referral to rehabilitation were applied.

Results: A total of 1683 records were audited. The majority of clients had cerebral infarct followed by cerebral haemorrhage. The median length of stay was 7 days; stay was lengthier for haemorrhagic strokes. Only 54.1% of the clients were referred to rehabilitation, with a median delay of 3 days between admission and referral to rehabilitation. 25.4% of the clients had early referral to rehabilitation. 39.2% of the 1397 clients were referred to rehabilitation earlier than 2 days before discharge.

Conclusion: This Filipino study provides valuable information on stroke types and prevalence, demographics and rehabilitation practices. Despite the prevalence of post-stroke rehabilitation, it has been underutilised in the management of stroke.

This article assesses the impact of the war in Syrian the context of the health system and neighbouring countries and the rise in non-communicable diseases. The authors advocate that  urgent policy and research attention needs to be given to the generation of timely and high-quality evidence on the effectiveness of the humanitarian health response, the capacity of health systems within Syria, and the issue of non-communicable diseases among internally displaced people and refugees

The Lancet, Vol 3, Issue 3, PE8-E9, Mar 01, 2015

This report lays out framework for the development of new strategies to bring the right programmes, information, and services to an ageing international community. The report focuses on policy development, healthy ageing and health in old age, health systems and long – term care systems.  The report concludes by presenting a series of recommended next steps to realising the vision of a world that is more friendly to an ageing population

This report provides a summary of research project conducted by the International Centre for Evidence in Disability at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the University of Malawi. The study used the Key Informant Method (KIM) to estimate the prevalence of moderate/severe physical, sensory and intellectual impairments and epilepsy among children in two districts (Ntcheu and Thyolo) in Malawi. This report presents summary of the study’s background information, aims and objectives, key findings, conclusions and recommendations

Malnutrition and neurodisability are both major public health problems in Africa. This review highlights key areas where they interact. These areas of interaction include maternal malnutrition, toxin ingestion, macronutrient malnutrition and micronutrient deficiencies - all of which cause or are caused by neurodisability, The article concludes that there is an urgent need for nutrition and disability programmes to work more closely together

Seminars in Pediatric Neurology, Volume 21, Issue 1

Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between gross motor function and quality of life among children with Cerebral Palsy (CP).

Method: This observational analytical study with cross-sectional design, was conducted at Yayasan Pembinaan Anak Cacat (YPAC) Bandung, Sekolah Luar Biasa (SLB) Cileunyi, and Paediatric Neurology Clinic of Dr. Hasan Sadikin Hospital Bandung, Indonesia, from March 2011 to September 2012. Gross motor function was assessed using Gross Motor Function Scale (GMFCS). Cerebral Palsy-Quality of Life (CP-QOL) questionnaire for parent-proxy version was used to assess quality of life of children with CP. Statistical analysis was done using Spearman rank test to determine the relationship between variables.

Results: Participants were 31 children with CP, between 4 -12 years of age. The most common type of CP was spastic quadriplegia (17 of the 31 children). Around 17 children had mild disability (GMFCS level I and II), 3 children had moderate disability (GMFCS level III), and 16 children had severe disability (GMFCS level IV and V). Majority of the parents had senior high school level education. Most of the fathers were self-employed while most of the mothers were housewives. Gross motor function was not significantly correlated to quality of life in general in children with CP (rs=-0.153, p=0.205). Although gross motor function was significantly correlated to pain and the impact of disability (rs=-0.313, p=0.043), other aspects of quality of life (social well-being and acceptance, feeling about functioning, participation and physical health, emotional well-being and self-confidence, access to services, and family health) were not significantly correlated (p>0,05) to it.

Conclusions: Gross motor function in children with CP was correlated to pain and the impact of disability domain of quality of life.