Bette Bonder

Exploratory study of perceived quality of life with implanted standing neuroprostheses

Individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) need options for negotiating architectural barriers, completing essential transfers, and accessing items on high shelves or in cupboards that cannot be reached from the wheelchair or safely managed with reachers. Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have developed an assistive technology device to assist individuals with SCI to stand and transfer. The 8-channel implanted CWRU-VA system enables persons with SCI to exercise, stand, and maneuver in the vicinity of their wheelchairs. Interventions that decrease barriers to mobility and participation can have a significant effect on an individuals perceived quality of life (QOL). This study uses a qualitative research methodology comprised of a series of semi-structured interviews to determine the effects on perceived QOL of an implanted 8-channel functional electrical stimulation (FES) system for standing after SCI. The results reveal that individuals with SCI currently using an implanted FES standing system perceived significant improvements in QOL related to the neuroprosthesis. Implanted neuroprostheses for standing have the potential to improve QOL for veterans living with SCI.

An Occupational Perspective on Cultural Evolution

Abstract Culture has received increasing attention in recent occupational science research. The emphasis has been on the influence of culture on occupational choice, yet individuals’ occupational choices influence culture through the process of cultural evolution. Culture initially emerged as activities that successfully addressed basic needs were transformed into rituals. Cultural evolution occurs when some aspects of a culture change or disappear. This can happen as a result of chance, or change in the surrounding world, through social unrest or planned intervention. It is important to recognize the possibility that occupational choices have broad societal implications, and to address that possibility in a thoughtful and planned fashion.

Personal Meanings of Occupation for Women in Later Life: Two Women Compared

ABSTRACT Understanding the meaning of occupation for older women presents challenges to care providers because of the highly individual manner in which they enact those meanings. Two women interviewed in depth over a two-year period demonstrate the unique characteristics of activity patterns of older women, the meanings they ascribe to them, and the contribution of those activities to quality of life. The women were demographically similar, and described engaging in several common activity categories (connection to others, doing good, spiritual expression) that were particularly meaningful to them. The specific activities that they undertook were quite different. Findings suggest the importance of obtaining detailed information about older women in making plans for intervention to support desired activities in later life.