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SUMMARY
Author(s) -
Donna M. Gress,
CAnswer Forum
Publication year - 1964
Publication title -
acta neurologica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.967
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1600-0404
pISSN - 0001-6314
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0404.1964.tb03341.x
Subject(s) - citation , library science , information retrieval , computer science , psychology , world wide web
A large number of physically disabled persons are unfit for work due to neurologic disease or injury and are in need of qualified medical and social rehabilitation. According to the experience of rehabilitation institutions abroad and preliminarily in Sweden, very good results, particularly with disablement after disease or injury not cerebrally located, can be attained with modern rehabilitation resources. Under favourable conditions working capacity can also be maintained or regained in conjunction with chronic progressive diseases and with cerebrally located disease or injury, although for these patients the goals must often be limited to be realistic. In addition to the character of the disease, its location and the grade of handicap, other factors, such as concomitant psychic symptoms and the duration of the disease prior to treatment may influence the rehabilitation prognosis. Medical rehabilitation coordinated with vocational and other social readjustment measures in line with modern prototypes from abroad aimed at counteracting permanent disability and unfitness for work was proposed, in 1954, for Sweden by the Director of the Royal Medical Board, A. Engel. A rehabilitation centre applying these principles to physically disabled neurological patients was started in 1956 in Goteborg by Professor T. Broman and Docent B. Bjerner. An evaluation of the favourable preliminary results of this program requires a penetrating analysis of the heterogeneous patient material in regard to those factors which influence the rehabilitation prognosis, and is also made difficult by the lack of a suitable control material. The effect ofrehabilitation resources concerning regained working capacity can, however, be indirectly estimated by the reaction of the rate of disablement pensioning caused by reduced working capacity due to physically disabling neurological disease or injury. The problem of rehabilitation and disablement pensioning has become of current interest due to the legislation on social welfare which became effective January 1, 1963, and which, among other things, provides improved pension benefits but also prescribes that preventive measures should be taken to avoid reduction of working capacity.