Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R L Schalock

Publications and source records attributed to R L Schalock.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2007

Trends in residential policies and services for people with intellectual disabilities in Taiwan.

BACKGROUND: In Taiwan, 92-95% of people with an intellectual disability (ID) live with their families, with the remaining residing in residential facilities. Instead of funding community-living alternatives, the Taiwanese Government funds only registered facilities as part of its residential policies and services. The purpose of this study was to evaluate current policies and services trends regarding people with an ID in Taiwan. METHODS: Both documentary research, such as an analysis of policies, services programmes, official statistics, surveys, reports and funding provision reports, and a mail survey, were conducted to examine current trends and characteristics of the 96 residential settings available for people with an ID in Taiwan. RESULTS: During the 1990s in Taiwan, residential programmes for people with an ID showed the biggest growth since 1952. Since the first 'Community Home' was launched in 1990, the number of smaller scale residential settings with a unit size of less than 30 has grown significantly, particularly since 2000. However, the rate of institutionalization of people with an ID and who live in the institutions has also risen. CONCLUSIONS: In Taiwan, unlike in Western societies, residential services for people with an ID provided by formal care systems are tending to grow in number, and these include both large and smaller residential settings.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Quality of life and its measurement: important principles and guidelines.

BACKGROUND: The importance of the valid assessment of quality of life (QOL) is heightened with the increased use of the QOL construct as a basis for policies and practices in the field of intellectual disability (ID). METHOD: This article discusses the principles that should guide the measurement process, the major interrogatories (i.e. who, what, when, where, why, and how) of QOL measurement, issues and procedures in the cross-cultural measurement of QOL, and the current uses of QOL data. RESULTS: Based on the above methods, the article presents a number of important guidelines regarding QOL measurement. CONCLUSION: From a measurement perspective the use of the QOL construct is changing. Initially it was used as a sensitizing notion, social construct, and unifying theme. Increasingly, it is being used as conceptual framework for assessing quality outcomes, a social construct that guides quality enhancement strategies, and a criterion for assessing the effectiveness of those strategies. This new role places additional emphasis on the valid assessment of one's QOL.

Culture↗
PubMed2005

Cross-cultural study of person-centred quality of life domains and indicators: a replication.

BACKGROUND: The increased use of the quality of life (QOL) concept internationally suggests the need to evaluate its etic (universal) and emic (culture-bound) properties. This study replicated and expanded a previous cross-cultural study on QOL. METHOD: The three respondent groups (consumers, parents and professionals; total n = 781) were from four European countries: France, Belgium, Italy and Poland. The Cross Cultural Survey of Quality of Life Indicators was used to assess the importance and use of eight core dimensions of QOL. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) the etic properties would be demonstrated if there were similar profiles for the respondent and geographical groups, and if indicators grouped into the proposed QOL domains; and (2) the emic properties would be demonstrated if there were significant differences on scores across groups. RESULTS: Results supported both hypotheses. CONCLUSION: The present study replicated the findings of a large cross-cultural study that the QOL construct has both etic and emic properties.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

The concept of quality of life: what we know and do not know.

BACKGROUND: Over the past two decades the concept of quality of life (QOL) has increasingly become a focus for research and application in the fields of education/special education, health care (physical and behavioural), social services (disabilities and ageing), and families. METHODS: This article summarizes our current understanding of the construct of individual QOL as it pertains to persons with intellectual disabilities (ID). The article's three major sections discuss what we know, what we are beginning to understand, and what we still do not know about the QOL construct. RESULTS: We currently know the importance of the QOL construct as a service delivery principle, along with its current use and multidimensional nature. We are beginning to understand the importance of methodological pluralism in the assessment of QOL, the multiple uses of quality indicators, the predictors of assessed QOL, the effects of different data collection strategies, and the etic (universal) and emic (culture-bound) properties of the construct. We have yet to understand fully the use of QOL-related outcomes in programme change, how to best evaluate the outcomes of QOL-related services, and how to use the concept of QOL to impact public and disability reform. CONCLUSION: The article concludes with a brief discussion of future challenges related to demonstrating the concept's social validity and positive impact on the lives of persons with ID.

Factor Analysis, Statistical↗
PubMed1995

A multivariate analysis of mental hospital recidivism.

This study identifies health problems, instrumental activities of daily living, employment status, and number of previous admissions as significant factors of recidivism to a mental health residential facility. The study, conducted over a 5-year period, includes measures on 32 predictor variables collected either on admission, on discharge, or 12-15 months following discharge or on readmission. The study's results are interpreted in light of current changes in the mental health service delivery system including the interactive role of physical and mental illnesses, expanding access to community-based generic services, focusing on functional skills and their development or remediation, and the changing criteria for measuring mental health effectiveness.

Catchment Area, Health↗
PubMed1994

The changing conception of mental retardation: implications for the field.

The 1992 American Association on Mental Retardation's (AAMR) definition and classification of mental retardation is different from the previous classification system in that: (a) a single diagnostic code of mental retardation is used if the person meets the three criteria of age of onset (18 or under), significantly subaverage abilities in intellectual functioning, and related limitations in two or more adaptive skills areas; (b) the person's strengths and weaknesses are described in reference to four dimensions: intellectual functioning and adaptive skills; psychological and emotional well-being; health, physical well-being, and etiology; and life activity environments; and (c) a profile of needed supports is developed across the four dimensions. In this article we discussed six major implications of the 1992 System for the field of mental retardation.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1993

The use of treatment progress scales in client monitoring and evaluation.

This article describes a multiple-use patient monitoring and evaluation system, the Treatment Progress Scales (TPS), which has been used for the last six years on 4,600 psychiatric and chemically dependent patients in a state-operated mental health facility. The system has been used for patient monitoring, management information, and program evaluation purposes. The article summarizes these and offers a brief overview of the TPS, its psychometric properties, and its advantages and disadvantages.

Hospitals, Psychiatric↗
PubMed1993

Placement from a community-based mental retardation program: a 15-year follow-up.

The current status of 85 persons placed into independent housing and competitive employment 15 years ago was evaluated. Two primary groups emerged: those in and those not in MR/DD services (19% and 59% of sample, respectively). Personal interview and observational data were used to evaluate the person's life (e.g., social and support networks, life style and role functions, activity patterns, measured quality of life, and expressed satisfaction). The two groups were compared on these data sets as well as on previously obtained behavioral skill data and family support levels. Implications of the study were discussed in reference to natural and long-term support needs, the recent paradigm shift in habilitation and evaluation strategies, and the ongoing concern about quality of life of individuals with disabilities.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1993

State MR/DD agency information systems and available data related to day and employment programs.

The current status of state mental retardation/developmental disability agency information systems related to day and employment programs for persons with disabilities was described, and data regarding the number and characteristics of persons served in different day-employment programs and the funding sources for these persons were summarized. Suggestions were made regarding data utilization and information systems design.

Consumer Behavior↗
PubMed1993

["Supported employment": equal opportunity for severely handicapped men and women].

This article examines the "supported employment" approach, which tries systematically to integrate severely disabled men and women into the open labour market. After describing the target population, we shall outline the specific support required, along with the benefits, risks and problems involved. Examples from a few industrialized countries, demonstrating the viability of training and employing severely disabled people, will illustrate the new approach. The activities described in this article are inn line with the goals of the ILO Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment (Disabled Persons) Recommendation, 1983 (No. 168), which calls for "research and the possible application of its results to various types of disability in order to further the participation of disabled persons in ordinary working life".

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Relationship between preexposure to prey and PCPA-induced filicidal activity in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Experiments, involving para-chloro-D,L-phenylalanine-induced pup-killing (filicide), were conducted to determine the effect of preexposure to the goal entity on the initial development and long-term expression of PCPA-induced filicide. Three groups of Sprague-Dawley rats (n = 50) were either preexposed/not preexposed, or preexposed for varying periods (5, 8, or 13 days) prior to receiving PCPA. Two major results were obtained: 1) preexposed animals were less filicidal than those not preexposed; and 2) there was an inverse relationship between the number of preexposures and filicide occurrence. The results are interpreted in reference to a serotonin-depletion habituation hypothesis.

Aggression↗
PubMed1989

Placement into nonsheltered employment: findings from national employment surveys.

Data from two (1984-1985 and 1985-1986) national surveys of facilities providing vocational services to adults with developmental disabilities were used to analyze employment placement patterns and client-referenced outcomes. Most of these adults were working in sheltered environments; however, 17 to 19% of those served were placed into nonsheltered settings during the respective survey periods. Effects of individual and environmental characteristics on a variety of individual and facility-level employment outcomes were examined. Research and policy implications were discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Quality of life: its measurement and use.

The emerging need to view improved quality of life as an outcome measure from human service programs was described, and a Quality of Life Index was proposed that can be used as either an outcome measure or the criterion for the goodness-of-fit between persons and their environments. Data were presented from 685 adult clients within Nebraska's Community Based Mental Retardation Programs demonstrating the use of this Index as both an outcome measure and a criterion of the goodness-of-fit between persons who are disabled and their environments. Administrative and programmatic uses of such data were explored, along with a number of cautions to consider when assessing a person's quality of life.

Employment↗
PubMed1987

[Development of community-based services for the mentally handicapped in the USA--on the way toward an integrated life].

Services for mentally retarded adults have undergone major changes over the past 15 years in the United States of America. Through the impact of "normalization", the calls for implementing fundamental civil rights for all citizens, and by applying methods of an essentially behavioural nature, services have gradually been moved out of the institutional sector and into the local communities. A regional service delivery model established in the state of Nebraska illustrates this development toward individualized living and competitive employment in the community.

Community Mental Health Services↗
PubMed1986

Placement from community-based mental retardation programs: how well do clients do after 8 to 10 years?

The placement success and quality of life of 85 mentally retarded persons placed into independent housing and competitive employment 8 to 10 years ago was evaluated. Three groups emerged on the basis of the clients' current programmatic status, living-work placement, and financial status. A number of variables were found to discriminate between successful and unsuccessful living and work outcomes, including family involvement, social-emotional behavior, number of disabilities, sensorimotor functioning, symbolic operations, and auditory-visual processing. For assessed quality of life, significant correlates included family involvement, income, number of disabilities, and age. Those who were successful had a higher assessed Quality of Life Index than those who were unsuccessful.

Activities of Daily Living↗