Veronica I. Umeasiegbu

The Conventional and Unconventional about Disability Conventions: A Reflective Analysis of United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

This article presents an analysis of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in relation to prior United Nations conventions on disability and U.S. disability policy law with a view to identifying the conventional and also the incremental advances of the CRPD. Previous United Nations conventions related to disability have had, at best, partial success in effectively protecting the human rights of individuals with disabilities. The CRPD, as a policy instrument, has considerable potential for advancing the legal rights of persons with disabilities in the United States and globally. This article reviews this potential from national and international perspectives and explores the implications of the CRPD for rehabilitation counseling advocacy and education.

Specialized housing needs of Americans with multiple sclerosis: Descriptive results of a national analysis

BACKGROUND: This article presents the results of a comprehensive national analysis of the specialized and accessible housing situation among Americans with multiple sclerosis (MS). This study represents the first national assessment of specialized housing among Americans with MS. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to comprehensively evaluate the specialized housing situation for US adults with MS, and specifically, to identify the most pressing needs and most frequently identified barriers to achieving safe and accessible

Employment among Working-Age Adults with Multiple Sclerosis: A Data-Mining Approach to Identifying Employment Interventions.

Purpose: To examine demographic, functional, and clinical multiple sclerosis (MS) variables affecting employment status in a national sample of adults with MS in the United States. Method: The sample included 4,142 working-age (20–65 years) Americans with MS (79.1% female) who participated in a national survey. The mean age of participants was 51.93 years (SD = 8.7). The dependent variable was employment status. The predictor variables included a set of demographic, functional, and MS variables. Results: The chi-squared automatic interaction detector (CHAID) analysis indicated that participants who were receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) had significantly lower rates of employment (8.6%) than those who were not receiving SSDI (53.9%). For those not receiving SSDI, the most important factor predicting employment status was MS impact on physical functioning, as measured with the Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale Physical Impact scale. Conclusion: The data-mining approach (i.e., CHAID analysis) provided detailed information and insight about interactions among demographic, functional, and clinical variables and employment status through the segmentation of the sample into mutually exclusive homogeneous subgroups. Implications for rehabilitation intervention, based on these subgroupings, are discussed.

Rehabilitation Practice, Employment, and Policy for Rural Development for People with Disabilities in West Africa

This chapter reviews the literature on rehabilitation and service-related issues of individuals with disabilities in rural West Africa. There is very limited literature on rehabilitation issues in rural West Africa. The chapter explores pertinent issues such as vital information on West Africa, health and service delivery issues, role of the NGOs in service delivery, strategies to improve service delivery, implications for rehabilitation, and strategies for international collaboration.

Rehabilitation Services, Self-Advocacy and Psychosocial Adaptation as Determinants of Employment among Persons with Spinal Cord Injury

Objectives The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that determine employment in adults with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI). Methods Participants were community-dwelling adults with SCI from three states of the United States. Participants included 101 adults who have lived with SCI for at least one year before the onset of the study. Cross-sectional design through the use of questionnaire was used in this research. Participants were recruited through purposive sampling. Descriptive analysis, correlation analysis, regression analysis, and path analysis were used to analysis the study data. Results The results of this study suggest that age, education, and psychosocial adaptation are the predictors of employment in this sample of persons with SCI.

Specialized housing adaptation in multiple sclerosis: Relationships to demographic variables

OBJECTIVE: This review of the literature examined the association between demographic variables of individuals with multiple sclerosis and specialized housing needs. Since MS symptoms present a unique challenge to housing caregivers and rehabilitation management, understanding the association between the demographic variables and specialized housing will facilitate effective planning, referral and recommendation for specialized housing. RESULTS: The common themes that emerged from the literature review as factors that affect specializing housing needs of individuals with MS include age, gender, income/employment, race/ethnicity and social life CONCLUSIONS: Implications for rehabilitation practice are discussed.