Background and Study Aim. While many persons who participate in Budo-based rehabilitation profess improvements in functional ability, and selfefficacy in daily life, it has been extremely difficult to collect quantitative scientific data on the effectiveness of Budo-based rehabilitation. This difficulty is due in part to the wide variety of disabilities. The aim of this present study, therefore, is the scientific data on the effects of Budo rehabilitation targeting post-stroke patients.Material and Methods. The six post-stroke patients were subjected to a period of 4-months Budo practice. Participant data was measured according to Single Subject Experimental Design guidelines. The following tests were used to gather data: 5 repetitions of the sit-to-stand test, 6 meter timed walk test, and Test of Dynamic standing balance. Data was also collected through interviews and self-report regarding: fear of fallingand general health.Results. Data showed that post-stroke patients experienced improved muscle strength, balance, postural control, walking ability and performance of daily activities as a result of the Budo-based rehabilitation in this experiment. Patient self-reporting revealed a reduced fear of falling and indications of a healthier self-image as a result of Budo practice. Patient interviews suggest that the sociality and culture of Budo had a powerfully positive psychological effect aiding the rehabilitative process.Conclusion. Data clearly showed that Budo-based rehabilitation effectively delivered general quantitative improvements as reported by poststroke patients. Not only could the patients perform daily-life tasks better, they exhibited less fear, more self-efficacy, and a healthier self-image.

Aim: The aim of this study was to describe children’s and parents’ experiences of the significance of standing in a standing device. Methods: Individual interviews were performed with six children/teenagers (aged 7–19 years) and 14 parents. The interviews were transcribed and analyzed using a qualitative content analysis. Findings: The analysis resulted in the major theme, the duality of uprightness and the related themes: (1) the instrumental dimension of standing; (2) the social dimension of standing; and (3) the ambivalent dimension of standing. Each of the themes comprised several subthemes. Conclusions: There is an inherent duality related to the use of a standing device. Standing in a standing device was seen as a treatment of body structures and functions, as well as a possible source of pain. Standing was considered to influence freedom in activities and participation both positively and negatively. The parents experienced that standing influenced other peoples’ views of their child, while the children experienced standing as a way to extend the body and as something that gave them benefits in some activities. Physiotherapists working with children should take into account both the social and physical dimensions of using a standing device and consider both the child’s and the parents’ views.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to explore the psychosocial impact of standing devices as experienced by users. Method: This is the second part of a comprehensive survey in five counties in Sweden where all the subjects with standing devices were invited to participate. The impact of standing devices on functional independence, quality of life and wellbeing was assessed using a questionnaire, Psychosocial Impact of Assistive Devices Scale (PIADS). Results: The psychosocial impact of the standing devices was perceived as positive. The highest PIADS scores in relation to age were found in the oldest group, aged 65 years and older. The ability to walk and independence in ambulation resulted in higher scores than the use of a wheelchair and/or dependence on others. Those who stood often awarded higher scores in the PIADS questionnaire compared to those who used the device less frequently. When standing was integrated in various activities, its psychosocial impact received high scores. Conclusion: The psychosocial impact of standing devices was generally experienced positively. The main results indicated that standing in a standing device had a value and we as professionals should ask the users about the intended purpose of their standing in order to prescribe the optimal device.Implications for Rehabilitation •Standing in standing devices has positive psychosocial impact for the user.•As professionals we should broaden our view of the use of standing devices, i.e. to see the standing device as an aid that not only treats the body’s structures or improves the user’s abilities in activities, but also provides a psychosocial impact on the user’s daily life, and to find meaningful goals for the user from a psychosocial perspective

The presentation gives a brief exposé of the practice conducted within the area of budo for the disabled in Japan and Sweden, and brief results from the first trial in this area performed at Luleå university of technology - physical training based om principles from Japanese martial arts as means for post-stroke rehabilitation. For information about this research, contact Annika Näslund at Luleå university of technology.

Conference Theme: Social and service innovation in working life.Introduction: People with disabilities express positive effects and experiences of a new rehabilitation method, individually tailored martial arts for health and ability. This method has been developed through the common competence and creativity of physioterapists, a physical education teacher and the role model, a person with unique experience of personal disability and practice of Martial arts. The method acknowledges disabled people’s need for effective rehabilitation methods, and is suitable in a social context. The exercise is performed on equal terms despite the participants’ different prerequisites. Purpose: The project aimed to study the effects of this new rehabilitation method for social interaction through movement. Methods: Data from observations and interviews with participants were analysed using theoretical models of movement and social cognitive models including the theory of self-efficacy. Results and conclusion: Preliminary data indicate increased postural control, balance and performance of daily activities. The participants’ quality of movement and self-efficacy beliefs in a social context will be discussed, as well as the method as a social innovation.

Conference Theme: Social and service innovation in working life. Introduction: People with disabilities express positive effects and experiences of a new rehabilitation method, individually tailored martial arts for health and ability. This method has been developed through the competence and creativity of the role model, a person with unique experience of personal disability and practice of Martial arts. The method acknowledges disabled people’s need for effective rehabilitation methods, and is suitable in a social context. The exercise is performed on equal terms despite the participants’ different prerequisites. Purpose: The project aimed to study the effects of this new rehabilitation method for social interaction through movement. Methods: Data from observations and interviews with participants were analysed using theoretical models of movement and social cognitive models including the theory of self-efficacy. Results and conclusion: Preliminary data indicate increased postural control, balance and performance of daily activities. The participants’ quality of movement and self-efficacy beliefs in a social context will be discussed, as well as the method as a social innovation.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to describe the degree to which information and communication technology (ICT) was utilised by older people for health information and communication with health services during a one-year period in Sweden.

Methods: The participants (n=154) were aged 55 and over (mean 71.9, 52% women) and had been randomly selected from a population register. The participants responded to a survey with a set of questions about their general usage of ICT appliances, as well as their usage of different ICT tools to retrieve health information and to communicate with the health services.

Results: The results showed that, in contrast to a rather frequent general ICT usage, the most common way to communicate with healthcare services was by personal contacts or by a land line telephone. A mobile phone was used by 24% of such communications, SMS messages by 11%, websites, chat forums or blogs by 4%, and audio and video communication by 2%. Self-reported overweight problems, general use of mobile phone, and general use of Internet were significantly and independently associated with having experience of using mobile phones or more advanced ICT appliances in contacts with the health services.

Conclusion: The low health-related ICT usage found in this study may be understood as a low degree of implementation of ICT in contact with health services, but the relatively high experience of general ICT usage indicates a potential for a wider use in the future in Sweden.

Purpose: The aim of the study was to illuminate the meaning that standing holds for persons who require standing devices. Method: The phenomenological/hermeneutical analysis of the interviews was carried out using a life world-approach. Fifteen users of standing devices lacking the ability to stand independently participated in the interviews.Result: Each person’s lived experiences of standing in their devices indicated that the upright body position opens up an opportunity for connection to the outside world. An upright body position (i) alters the person’s sense of self, (ii) augments the person’s availability to the outside world, (iii) strengthens social interplay, and (iv) changes a person’s motivation and their expectations over time. Conclusion: Standing may be something that unites the body and self. Understanding the meaning of the altered body position that the use of standing devices opens up is vital for physiotherapists and occupational therapists prescribing these devices. Furthermore, it is important to take account of the subjective body, as well as the biological one, to enhance the adoption of different body positions and the person’s experiences.

Faktorer som påverkar risken att råka ut för en fallolycka och faktorer som kan minska risken att skada sig om man väl ramlar studeras ur olika perspektiv - från yttre miljöfaktorer till fysiska förmågor (att undvika fall samt att våga falla).  Fallpreventiv rörelsebaserad träning med utgångspunkt i olika traditionella japanska och kinesiska kampartsformer (Karate, Judo, Chigong etc.) och dess effekter avseende utövarnas hälsa och förmåga studeras. Grupper som studeras är såväl personer i arbetslivet som personer med funktionsnedsättningar. Resultat från det första delprojektet indikerar att budoträning som rehabilitering efter stroke har positiva effekter.Vi samverkar med praktiker och forskare i Luleå och Boden, samt internationellt från Tromsö och Bergen i Norge, och the International Budo University i Tokyo.

Syftet med projektet är att utveckla metoder där förebyggande insatser med satsning på ett förbättrat säkerhetsklimat och en ökad fysisk kompetens blandpersonal inom vård- och social service integreras i verksamhetsutvecklingen.