Assessment in Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation – Views & Perspectives

Editors : Michel Barat and Franco Franchignoni
Ed Maugeri Foundation Books-ISBN 88-7963-180-2

This is the third book in a series of monographs produced by members of the European Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine (with important contributions from many other outstanding colleagues) and the first published by the Italian Foundation “Salvatore Maugeri”.

The book is organized into ten chapters. After a preface by Anne Chamberlain and Alex Chantraine and an introduction by Michel Barat and Franco Franchignoni, chapter 1 (A.J. Van Djik) presents a theoretical framework that can help us in rehabilitation practice to select relevant variables for measurement, and subsequently make reliable interpretations of the measurement outcomes. Chapter 2 (A. Tennant) deals with the principles and practice of measuring outcome in P&RM, including issues about how to identify appropriate outcomes, how to judge the quality of an outcome measure, and how to use such measures.  Chapter 3 (F. Franchignoni & F. Salaffi) examines generic and specific measures for outcome assessment in the rehabilitation of orthopaedic and rheumatologic diseases, including health-related quality of life measures and utility measures, as well as disease-specific and region- or site-specific instruments. Chapters 4 and 5 are devoted to the assessment of rehabilitation of neurological diseases, and examine the consequences of spinal cord injury (chapter 4 by W.S. El Masry) and chronic disabilities of patients suffering from stroke, multiple sclerosis, severe traumatic brain injury, Parkinson’s disease, and others (chapter 5 by M. Barat & P. Dehail). The following two chapters describe the recent advances in the neurophysiological understanding of posture and gait (chapter 6 by A. Nardone, G. Courtine and M. Schieppati) and proceed to discuss issues related to the assessment of postural control and balance in ageing and neurological diseases (chapter 7 by A. Nardone, M. Schieppati and M. Schmid), with sections illustrating clinical tests of balance, multi-item balance scales, fear of falling and fall-efficacy scales, and instrumentation for kinetic and kinematic measures. The methodological issues of cognitive impairment are considered in chapter 8 (J.M. Mazaux,M.D. Lezak, J.M. Giroire,P.A Joseph, and M. Barat) which provides important cues for assessing cognition in brain-damaged adults. Chapter 9 (J.M. André, J. Paysant, H. Dorey, O. Dossmann, and C. Keller) examines the specific protocols for the evaluation of assistive technology devices in their particular context of use. The last chapter (A. Giordano & A. Giustini) provides a detailed description of instruments for assessing mobility, in particular for long-term activity monitoring – an area of increasing interest in Rehabilitation Medicine in the light of the World Health Organisation ICF framework.

Franco Francignoni

Comments by Guy Vanderstraeten

This is the third book in a series of monographs produced by members of the European Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine with important contributions from many other outstanding colleagues.
This book deals in general with the principles and practice of measuring outcomes in physical and rehabilitation medicine, including issues about how to identify appropriate outcomes, how to judge the quality of an outcome measure, and how to use such measures.
Specific measures for outcome assessment in the rehabilitation of orthopaedic, rheumatologic and neurological diseases are discussed.
Recent advances in the neurophysiological understanding of posture and gait are discussed in two chapters in combination with the assessment of postural control and balance in ageing and neurological diseases.
The methodological issues of cognitive impairment are considered, which provides important clues for assessing cognition in brain-damaged adults.
Assistive technology devices in their particular context of use are evaluated.
The last chapter addresses the various solutions that are available to searchers and clinicians to objectively assess and monitor movement over long periods , an area of increasing interest in rehabilitation medicine within  the World Health Organisation ICF framework.
This book is of interest not only to trainees and  specialists in  physical medicine and rehabilitation but also to physiotherapists and occupational therapists.
This work, which has been published in 2005, reaches a high-quality standard.

Guy Vanderstraeten

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