The book provides an accessible introduction to many of the current theoretical perspectives on disability; enabling readers to challenge the taken-for-granted nature of traditional knowledge and assumptions within the rehabilitation, health and community care industries, and encouraging a more critical approach both to the nature of rehabilitation following injury or illness and to the 'problem' of physical difference and disability. Through its interrogation and exploration of new theoretical perspectives on disability and rehabilitation, this book provides a unique text for students and practitioners of nursing, occupational therapy, physiotherapy and social work and for educators and researchers in these fields. Although rehabilitation practitioners claim to aspire to client-centred practice and advocate participatory modes of research, rehabilitation theory remains curiously estranged both from theoretical perspectives developed by disabled/disability theorists and from critical perspectives on 'disability' that are emerging from other academic disciplines. Thus immune from alternate views, rehabilitation practitioners fail to question the premise that their professional assumptions are correct or 'right'. Contemporary theorists raise important questions, for example, about professional power, concepts of normality, independence and the physical body - issues central to rehabilitation - as well as to the role of the cultural environment in producing prejudice, the role of the social environment in creating disadvantage; and to issues of power and privilege and of the systemic oppression of disabled people. This book provides an introduction to the expanding body of critical work on disability by theorists from a range of perspectives, illustrating ways in which their theories and insights contest or support assumptions within rehabilitation theory. The book argues for a cross-fertilisation of ideas and challenges hierarchies of power in which nurses and therapists privilege their own assumptions, perspectives and knowledge while overlooking or ignoring the perspectives both of disabled people and of other theorists.Provides an accessible introduction to current theoretical perspectives on disability Demonstrates how these theoretical perspectives can inform a practitioner's approach to rehabilitation Relevant for all the rehabilitation and health care professions

This book provides an inexpensive and accessible discussion of qualitative research and the potential role for qualitative research in enhancing both the theoretical bases of occupational and physical therapy and the knowledge bases that inform evidence-based practice. It is a comprehensive text for students in the rehabilitation disciplines with examples drawn from research undertaken by physical therapists and occupational therapists. The book provides a resource for graduate students, researchers new to the field and to clinicians who seek a greater understanding of qualitative research and its use within the professions of occupational and physical therapy. Coverage and Orientation Occupational and physical therapists are being urged to adhere to "evidence-based practice" because clients and payers want services that are based on evidence that demonstrates their effectiveness. Qualitative Research in Rehabilitation : informing evidence-based practice will be a timely, practical and practice-related exploration of qualitative research, client-centred practice and evidence-based practice as these inter-relate and as they pertain to occupational and physical therapy. The material addresses a subject of increasing concern and relevance to therapists. Thorough explanations demonstrate the relevance of qualitative research for evidence-based practice. The text explores issues specific to the field of rehabilitation and focusses specifically on those important to OT and PT. Information links theory, research and practice in an understandable way. Resource effectively uses boxes and tables to highlight key packets of information Illustrations of "real" research and practice examples aid the reader in applying their new-found knowledge to real-life issues. The book is written in a readable style which makes the book accessible for students and non-academically minded practitioners.

Spinal cord injury produces a unique multiplicity of problems which must be clearly understood by the considerable numbers of health care and rehabilitation professionals involved in their lifetime management. This book assumes an educational approach to spinal cord injury management, in which the individual becomes an active participant in goal setting, problem solving, and in assuming self responsibility. Rehabilitation is discussed in terms of client empowerment, client-professional partnerships and examines the client in the context of his unique socio-cultural environment.;This book attempts to present an educational and psychosocial model for the rehabilitation of people with spinal cord injuries. In line with this approach, the first chapters present a concept of empowerment in rehabilitation and of an educational view of the process of learning to live with a suddenly acquired disability. The medical aspects of spinal cord injury follow, with a study of aetiology, impairments, acute care, disability reduction and engagement in self care activities. The management of high lesions in a rehabilitation context is examined separately, since this is a highly specialised area and one which is largely ignored both in therapy literature and in professional practice. The final chapters focus upon psychological issues, and upon such issues as productivity, leisure, socialization which are important both in early phases of management and in the long term.