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Objectives: Children with disabilities need assistive technology (AT) to explore their surroundings, participate in social activities, and gain developmental skills. This study aimed to assess AT needs and barriers to access it for these children. Methods: The study participants comprised 217 children with disabilities aged 6-12 years, randomly selected from the registration list of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Welfare Organization, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, Iran, in 2022. After obtaining informed consent from their parents, study data were gathered by phone interview using the rapid assessment of AT (rATA) tool of the World Health Organization (WHO). Results: Among the 217 participants, 108(49.8%) used AT devices, and 102(47%) had unmet needs. Of the 55 AT devices named in the rATA, only 14 were used by the children. The most commonly used devices were hearing aids, glasses, and wheelchairs. Unmet needs of ‘chairs for bath/toilet,’ ‘wheelchairs,’ and ‘therapeutic footwear’ accounted for 50% of 132 unmet AT needs. The most common reasons for lacking AT were lack of financial resources (52%) and knowledge about AT devices (30.1%). Most clients were satisfied with AT-use training (92.3%), but only 20.2% were satisfied with AT device repair services. Discussion: This study highlights the need to improve AT device repair services, overcome financial challenges, and increase parental knowledge about AT devices as the most prevalent barriers to using AT devices. Developing a child-specific version of the rATA tool that includes questions about education and play engagement AT needs is suggested for better estimation of AT needs for children with disabilities in the future.

Objectives: The presence of skilled, motivated therapists is critical to meet the rehabilitation needs of children with disability. This study aimed to determine whether on-the-job training on applying goal attainment scaling (GAS) affects pediatric occupational therapists' burnout and job motivation. Methods: This study was quasi-experimental with a pre-test-post-test design. After signing the informed consent, 35 pediatric occupational therapists at a child rehabilitation center attended a course of five 1.5-2 h workshop sessions during 5 consequent weeks on applying GAS in their workplace. Through the workshop, the trainees practiced setting goals and making 5-point scales to measure the degree of reaching those goals. The participant asked to bring some of their client's descriptions (anonymous) to the workshop as samples to talk about them. Afterward, they were asked to fill in the GAS documentation form as part of their rehabilitation records. Participants' job motivation and burnout scores were measured by the Maslach questionnaire and Loudahel Kitchener's Job Motivation Scale, respectively, before the workshop and 30 and 60 days later. The paired t-test and Wilcoxon test were used for comparisons. Results: The Mean±SD job motivation scores, which were 42.37±6.73 before the intervention, rose to 52.82±8.51 and 56±7.59 at the end of the workshop (day 30) and on follow-up measurement (day 60), respectively (P

Background: The importance of strong self-regulation (SR) abilities for academic and social success is known, yet relatively few studies examine students’ SR and how it can be promoted especially in adolescents with special needs, such as those students with hearing loss. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a resilience intervention program enhances SR in adolescents with hearing loss. Methods: This study was experimental with a pre-test, post-test, follow up and control group design. Participants included 122 students with hearing loss in mainstream settings randomly assigned to intervention and control groups (61 students in each group). The interventional group had training for six weeks (two times per week for 75 min). The Adolescent Self-Regulatory Inventory was used to measure the self-regulation of students. Results: The results indicated a significant difference between the control and interventional groups in SR, short SR, and Long SR after the intervention, at both the 6-week and 14-week measurements (p < 0.001). Conclusion: This study’s findings indicate that implementing resilience intervention programs can promote the self-regulation skills in adolescent students with hearing loss.

Purpose – This paper aims to clear ambiguities regarding the definition of intellectual capital and its components in the evaluation of rehabilitation organizations. Design/methodology/approach – A preliminary definition of intellectual capital and its three domains of human, relational and structural capital and separate lists of proposed components for each domain was developed based on the results of a previous study. Fourteen experts in rehabilitation, health management and management engaged in Delphi rounds to reach agreed-upon definitions. Their ideas on relevance and the measurements of each proposed component in the assessment of intellectual capital in rehabilitation organizations were gathered by a questionnaire. Findings – Intellectual capital was defined as “The capital that emerges from the interaction of human resources’ ‘ability to think’ and to ‘create ideas’ with ‘a favorable internal and external organizational environment’ (including the managerial, social, structural, and physical environment, as well as communication between the inside and outside of the organization).” This capital is expected to gradually increase with further education, skills training and the gaining of experience by staff and managers. Also, the further development of intra-organizational structures and inter-relations with the market will empower the organization to adapt to continually changing circumstances, leading to competitive value and profit. Finally, a list of 101 proposed components was agreed upon in the evaluation of intellectual capital in rehabilitation organizations. Originality/value – This paper may lead to the development of measurement tools and ultimately to planning effective programs to increase intellectual capital in rehabilitation organizations.

Preterm birth has been increased over the last two decades, thus leading to higher admissions of preterm infants to the neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). The design of NICUs may have several consequences for the health of infants, parents, and staff. In addition, it has gone through numerous changes in recent years, including the single-family room (SFR). The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of using SFRs in the NICUs on the environmental (outcomes related to NICU environmental features) and clinical outcomes of the infants. Further, the present systematic review study was based on English papers about utilizing SFRs in the NICUs published during 2012-17. The papers were collected by searching the keywords "neonatal intensive care unit", "single-family room", "preterm infants", "parents’ perspective", "staff’s perspective", "infant outcomes", and "open-ward care unit" in ISI, Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Magiran, and OVID database. The findings showed that applying SFRs improves clinical and environmental outcomes and that the staff and parents have a positive attitude toward this method. Besides, it costs the same as or even in some models less than the open-ward method and is considered a cost-effective method. Although a consensus may not be achieved on some issues such as maternal stress, language and motor development, intellectual maturation, and to some extent nurses’ satisfaction, in general, using the SFR in the NICUs enhances clinical and environmental outcomes and there is a positive attitude towards this method.

Objectives: To assess the relationship between visual rehabilitation with the quality of life and visual status in children who had been diagnosed with amblyopia in the national amblyopia screening program. Methods: Information was gathered from optometric centers in the cities of Nowshahr, Chalus, and Kelardasht, or in case it was not available, from parents of participating children. The KINDL Health-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire for Children was also completed by the children. Children were examined regarding visual acuity, stereopsis, strabismus, and refractive errors. Statistical tests such as one way ANOVA and Pearson correlation coefficient were used via SPSS software version 22. Results: Overall, the researchers obtained the records of 90 children with amblyopia, of which 76 were included in the study based on the inclusion criteria. The amblyopic children who did not have an early and timely start of treatment aid and did not complete treatment were the most prevalent group (38.2%). The lowest frequency (13.2%) pertained to those who did not have a timely start of treatment but experienced a completed treatment process. The highest proportion of children with entirely uncorrected amblyopia was those who had a timely start of treatment but did not complete the treatment. The majority of amblyopic children who had a completely corrected amblyopia had strictly acted in accordance with their therapist’s prescription. In contrast, the majority of those children whose amblyopia was left completely untreated had not acted in accordance with the therapist’s prescription. The children who had started treatment early but had not completed it obtained the lowest score on quality of life. The highest mean score was observed in the children who had completed their treatment process, either with or without an early start of the treatment. Discussion: The completion of treatment seemed to be of higher importance in the correction of amblyopia and increased the quality of life than the early start of treatment. Therefore, the authorities and therapists are recommended to pay more attention to follow-ups for completion of the treatment process and its important impact on improving eyesight and children’s quality of life.

Objective Speech and language disorders, when happening during childhood will ultimately lead to important negative outcomes in the life of the child. The farther we move from this critical period, that is, the first 3 years of life, the less will be the positive effects of environmental stimuli on the development of speech and language. Early detection of children at risk for or in the preliminary phases of developmental delays and provision of early intervention services for them is of utmost importance. The objective of this research was to compile and produce protocols for early intervention in childhood speech and language developmental disorders in Iranian children. Materials & Methods This study was conducted in two main phases: review phase and qualitative phase. In the review phase, all accessible search engines and databases, especially those for systematic reviews and guidelines were searched. In the qualitative study phase, several focus group discussions and rounds of Delphi were carried out with 20 experts in 7 subgroups, who were selected purposively. Results The result of this study is presented as 7 intervention packages, including the following domains of disorders: prelingual lingual speech and language hearing impairment, speech sound, dysphagia, stuttering, and dysarthria Conclusion Most studies have confirmed the effectiveness and need for early interventions for children with speech and language impairment. However, most do not explain the details of these interventions. Before the present study, no systematic and evidence-based protocol existed for early intervention in childhood speech and language impairments, in Iran; and due to language differences, as well as possible differences in the speech and language developmental process of children of different communities, making direct use of non-Persian references was not possible and effective. Thus, there was a clear demand for the production of such a protocol.

Background: Development is a process that continues from childhood to death, and most developmental changes occur during childhood. UNICEF introduced early storybook-reading (ESR) and storytelling as part of child care indicators. The aim of this study was to investigate the status of book-reading to children and its relationship with early childhood development in Iran. Methods: This is a descriptive-analytic study conducted in Tehran April-May 2017. In total, 272 mothers of children aged 3-30 months, who were referred to health centers, were selected using a convenience sampling method. Exclusion criteria was scoring below the cutoff point of any developmental domains of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ). ESR was assessed by checklist and child development was assessed by the ASQ. Data were analyzed using SPSS. Results: The mean number of children’s books owned was 10.23±8.642, and 84.75% had at least 3 books. The average book reading, storytelling and singing duration for children was 10±9.65, 11.48±11.756, and 23.88 ±17.880 min per day, respectively. Average book reading, storytelling, and singing duration was significantly greater in children 18-30 months than

Objectives: The aim of this research was to assess the level of awareness of rehabilitation professionals employed in academic rehabilitation centers in Tehran with reference to Tele-rehabilitation technology. Methods: In this study, a descriptive cross-sectional research method was used. The research was implemented by using a researcher-designed questionnaire which was developed by the integration and cultural adaptation of different tools collected in the field of tele-health implementation feasibility. The content and face validity of the questionnaire was determined and approved by Lawsche’s method. The reliability of the questionnaire was assessed by test-retest correlation coefficient determinations. After considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria, informed consent was obtained, and the questionnaires were distributed among the study sample, which comprised of 141 rehabilitation professionals. Results: The findings show that a desirable level of awareness does not exist among rehabilitation professionals with regards to this technology. Based upon the results, only 8% of the participants had basic knowledge of this technology required in case of implementation. Discussion: Since rehabilitation professionals’ awareness and knowledge can be a major key to a better implementation and application of this technology, it seems that there is a need for some developmental and training programs, such as informative educational workshops and seminars, to help them improve their level of knowledge and awareness.

Adolescents with hearing loss have been shown to have some emotional difficulties. This study investigated the effectiveness of a resilience training program on the emotional intelligence of mainstreamed adolescent students with hearing loss. In this experimental study, a pre-test, post-test, follow up and control group design was implemented. After receiving informed consents, 122 students with hearing loss in mainstreaming settings were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups (61 students in interventional group and 61 in control). The interventional group received training in groups of 3 to 5, for 6 weeks (two times per week for 75 min). The intervention focused on feelings, thinking (positive, negative) and outcomes of negative thinking, coping strategies, strengths and weakness, problem solving, communication skills, social skills, negotiation, despising and ridiculing, intra- and interpersonal skills. The Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC) and the Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale were used to measure the resilience and the emotional intelligence (EI) of participants respectively just before intervention, as well as at the 6- and 14-week marks. The Friedman Test was used to compare changes in emotional intelligence between interventional and control groups. The intervention increased the resilience scores by 20 points. Although the EI of both groups were similar at the beginning of the research, there was a significant difference between the control and interventional groups in emotional intelligence and its aspects after intervention, at the 6-week and 14-week measurements (p < 0.001). The effect size was 1.5 for the EI total score. The 6-week resilience training program was very effective at improving emotional intelligence and could be readily used to help students with hearing loss improve their emotional abilities.

مقدمه: والدين كودكان معلول با بردن منظم فرزند خود به جلسات توان‌بخشی نقش بسزايي در موفقيت برنامه درمان فرزندشان ايفا می‌كنند، اما همه والدين به طور منظم فرزند خود را طبق وقت قبلی برای شرکت در جلسات توان‌بخشی به مراکز نمی‌برند. هدف از انجام اين مطالعه، تعيين موانع پیش روی والدين در بردن منظم کودکان خود به جلسات توان‌بخشی بود. مواد و روش‌ها: در مطالعه مقطعي حاضر با والدين 92 نفر از كودكان دچار معلوليت که در مراکز سرپایی كاردرماني، گفتاردرماني و فيزيوتراپي شهر بيرجند خدمات توان‌بخشی دریافت می‌کردند، مصاحبه شد. اين مصاحبه بر اساس پرسش‌نامه محقق ساخته متشکل از سؤالات باز و بسته صورت گرفت. روايي پرسش‌نامه با کسب نظر 11 نفر از صاحب‌نظران و محاسبه نسبت روایی محتوایی به روش Lawshe، 73/0 تأیید شده بود و پايايي آن بر اساس نتايج آزمون- باز آزمون، 89/0 بود. داده‌هاي جمع‌آوري شده به كمك نرم‌افزار SPSS نسخه 16 مورد تجزيه و تحليل قرار گرفت. بر حسب مورد از آزمون‌های 2c، Independent t و يا Fisher exact test استفاده شد. مقدار 05/0 > P به عنوان سطح معنی‌داري تفاوت‌ها در نظر گرفته شد. يافته‌ها: 44 نفر (8/47 درصد) از والدین به طور مرتب فرزند خود را برای شرکت در جلسات توان‌بخشی به مراکز می‌آوردند. بر اساس پاسخ والدين به سؤالات بسته پرسش‌نامه، از ميان 28 مانع بالقوه مورد سؤال، "هزينه زياد خدمات توان‌بخشي"، "فاصله زياد خانه تا مركز توان‌بخشي"، "دشواري حمل كودك به مركز توان‌بخشي"، "شرايط بد آب و هوايي در فصولي از سال" و "فرصت كافي نداشتن" به ترتیب بيشترين ممانعت را براي حضور منظم در جلسات درمان ايجاد كرده بودند. در بررسی ارتباط بين مواجهه با هر يک از 28 مانع مورد سؤال با حضور منظم در جلسات توان‌بخشی، تنها بين محدوديت ساعات كار مراكز توان‌بخشي و حضور منظم در جلسات توان‌بخشی ارتباط آماري معنی‌داري به دست آمد (879/0-037/0 = Cl، 181/0 = OR، 02/0 = P). نتيجه‌گيري: با توجه به اثرات مثبت حضور منظم در جلسات توان‌بخشی بر پیشرفت کودکان معلول و با در نظر گرفتن نتایج حاصل از این پژوهش، انجام پژوهش‌های مداخله‌ای توصیه می‌گردد که طی آن اثر رفع هر يک از موانع فوق بر پيروی والدين از توصیه درمانگران جهت حضور منظم در جلسات توان‌بخشی مورد بررسی قرار گيرد. کلید واژه ها: موانع پیروی، حضور منظم، جلسات توان‌بخشی، کودکان معلول

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to assess disability among older persons, 60 years old or older, helping policy makers and program planners concerned elderly issues to provide proper services. Methods & Materials: The study included 600participants were chosen in a systemic classified cluster using 36-Item Interviewer Administered, without day codes version of world health organization disability schedule II (WHODAS II). It was assessed by comparing the converted points of the initial five scale points into one hundred scale points as the algorithm method presented by the WHO. Data analyzed by SPSS 11.5 with Chi- square, Mann- Whitney and Kruskal- Walis tests. Results: Mean score of disability among older persons was 33.3(SD=25.9), men 33.0(SD=28.1) and women 33.6(SD=23.8). There was no significant difference on mean scores between men and women (P>0.05), but there was significant difference between age groups (P

Introduction. This study aimed to assess rehabilitation professionals’ attitude toward implementation and application of telerehabilitation technology as a novel study in rehabilitation academic centers and affiliated clinics in Tehran. Methods. It was a descriptive cross-sectional study. To collect data, a researcher-designed questionnaire was developed. 141 rehabilitation experts participated in the study. Results. A majority of faculty members (78%) and clinicians (89.7%) either were in “definite agreement” or “somewhat agreed” with implementation and application of this technology, which demonstrates an overall positive attitude. Discussion. Based on the positive attitudes of the majority of participants toward implementation and application of this technology and their preferences in offering different telerehabilitation services, it seems that there is an appropriate and desirable acceptance and administrative culture to implement this technology among rehabilitation experts in Tehran. It is thus expected that implementation and application of this technology will be a promising experience in rehabilitation academic centers and affiliate clinics in Tehran.

Background: Early childhood is the most important step throughout the lifespan and it is a critical period continuing to the end of 8-year-old. Mothers' knowledge is one of the important aspects of child development. The goals of this study were to determine the situation of knowledge in Iranian parents about the concept and the importance of early childhood development (ECD) and determining the sources of parental knowledge about ECD from the perspective of parents and grandparents. Methods: This qualitative study was conducted based on the directional content analysis in 2016. The purposive sampling method is utilized to select 24 participants among parents and grandparents in Tehran. The inclusion criteria consisted of speaking in Persian and having a child or grandchild

Objectives: Quality of life, when referring to an individual’s health, is called health-related quality of life. The purpose of this study is to assess self-perceived hearing loss related quality of life of adolescents with hearing loss and its relationship with sex, age sub-groups or school settings with domains of quality of life. Methods: A school based survey was conducted in Tehran city. Using stratified sampling, 255 7th to 12th grade students with hearing loss, aged 11-19 years, studying in main streaming and special school sitting, were participated in the study by completing the health-related quality of life adolescent’s questionnaire. Physical, Emotional and Social health-related quality of life domain scores as well as Total health-related quality of life scores was calculated in a 0-100 scoring system. Results: As a whole, health-related quality of life of adolescents calculated to be 64.7±16.5. Students with milder hearing loss reported their quality of life (physical, emotional and social domains, as well as total quality of life) better than those with more severe hearing loss. Girls reported their physical and total health-related quality of life better than boys, and adolescents who were studied in mainstreaming reported better physical, social and total health-related quality of life. No significant differences were seen between reported health-related quality of life in early, mid or late adolescent age sub-groups. Nevertheless the power of tests was not enough to exclude differences between groups. Discussion: Findings of this study could be readily used to focus interventions on domains with more weakness in each group of adolescents. Beyond that the results could be helpful as a base line for detecting effectiveness of interventions in future.

Objectives: Speech and language development is one of the main aspects of evolution in humans and is one of the most complex brain functions such that it is referred to as one of the highest cortical functions such as thinking, reading and writing. Speech and language disorders are considered as a major public health problem because they cause many secondary complications in the childhood and adulthood period which affect one’s socioeconomic status overall. Methods: This study was conducted in two phases. The first phase was to identify all potential factors influencing delay in referral of children with speech and language disorders for receiving rehabilitation services, based on literature as well as the families’ and experts’ points of view. In the second phase of the study which was designed in a case-control manner, actual factors influencing the time of referral were compared between two groups of participants. Results: Parental knowledge of their children's problems related to speech and language had no significant impact on the on-time referral for treatment for children with speech and language disorders. After the child definite diagnosis of speech and language disorders, parents’ information about the consequences of speech and language disorders, had a significant influence on early referral for speech and language pathology services. Discussion: In this study family structure plays an important role in the early identification of children with developmental disorders. Two-parent families had access to more resources than single-parent families. In addition, single-parent families may be more involved in the work and business of life.