Outreach & Conference Task Force

Continue to promote ACRM at International meetings and conferences. Outreach to rehabilitation professionals and researchers to submit proposals for presentations, papers and posters for 2017 ACRM Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Continue to advertise and promote trainings done by ACRM such as Cognitive Training.

Contact the task force chair, Chris MacDonell, to learn more and participate.

 

Service Delivery Task Force

During the past three years, members of the task force have presented symposia, as well as, instructional courses during ACRM annual conferences. A main focus has been the identification and comparison of practice models used around the world: lessons learned and ways to increase social participation & integration in individuals with acquired brain injuries. Members of the task force are currently working on projects to describe healthcare access and disparities across cultures. We hope in the future, our work will help identify ideal features of healthcare systems and used to design culturally competent training of health care professionals as well as practice.  Ultimately, we aim to disseminate the data collected to help inform public policy and consumer rights.

In the upcoming 2017 conference in Atlanta, members of our task force have been invited to present on the topics of culture, family adjustment and acquired brain injury as well as community reintegration in low resource settings. Additionally, our task force is scheduled to have a business meeting on Friday, October 28^th from 4 pm to 5 pm; please check your schedule for location information. All ACRM attendees are welcome.

Symposium #1

Addressing the Role of Culture and Family Adjustment in Community Integration after Acquired Brain Injury: Theoretical & Practical Solutions in a Rapidly Changing World.
Janet Neiemer, Marlene Vega, Arshia Ahmad, Kathy Kniepman, Lucia Smith-Wexler

Symposium #2

Community Re-integration in Low Resource Settings: Unmet Needs & Family Participation in Rehabilitation Process.
Amit Kumar, Jonathan Armstrong, Carlos Marquez de Plata, Kristine Kingsley

Contact the task force co-chairs to learn more and participate, Kristine Kingsley, PsyD, ABPP-Rp and Arshia Ahmad, MD, MRCP (UK), MSc.

 

Research & Organization Resources Task Force

Members of the Research and Organization Resources Task Force are working to create more international liaisons for worldwide collaboration in the realm of Rehabilitation. In an effort to increase the spread of research experience and worldwide rehabilitation data, we are working to build universal connections and have suggested the following organizations/locations: Latin American Association of Medical Rehabilitation, European Brain Council, International Society of PM & R, Multiple Sclerosis and Parkinson’s Research groups, European Multicenter Study on SCI, Pacific Island Countries (Melanesia), Brain Injury Rehab in India and Africa, The World Bank, Vicki Anderson & Cathy Catroppa in Australia Murdock Childrens Research, CARF International, Chinese Government and Hospitals and European and Asian University Centers with focus on BI and SCI research. In addition to making international connections, we strive to participate in the development of community-based rehabilitation initiatives and connect with global facilities to explore models of implementation.

Recently task force members have considered focusing research on exploring international interest across regions and countries for collaboration on a project to translate rehabilitation measures into other languages, with the ultimate goal of developing a shared database of similar measures.  Explore grants may be available for such a project. Here are two possible sources of measures which could be examined: Common Data Elements (CDE), developed by the National Institute for Neurological Disorders & Stroke (NINDS) on several diagnostic groups and the Rehabilitation Measures Database  developed through collaboration of the Center for Rehabilitation Outcomes Research at Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and the Department of Medical Social Science Informatics at Northwestern University School of Medicine.

Additional research ideas include exploring international funding opportunities for brain injury or spinal cord injury with a focus on aging or sex/gender, or exploring international capacity building by achieving an understanding of obstacles to realize developmental goals, while enhancing abilities that allow measurable and sustainable results.

Contact the task force co-chairs, Donna Langenbahn, PhD, FACRM and
Angela Colantonio, PhD, FACRM, to learn more and participate.