• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.65 no.2
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• pp.173-179
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• 2022

Disabilities can emerge due to traumatic spinal fractures. In terms of sacrococcygeal spine, because of its unique anatomic structure with minimal movement, the possibility for it to have a disability is relatively low. In Korea, unlike most disability criteria, private insurance companies acknowledge angular deformities caused by vertebral fractures as disabilities according to their degree, so there were several cases where patients required compensation, arguing angular deformity caused by sacrococcygeal fracture, which in some cases led to legal conflicts. Except the Act Welfare of Persons with Disabilities which recognizes only severe angular deformity affecting internal organs as disability and the industrial accident disability evaluation which does not recognize coccygeal fracture as disability but rarely recognizes sacral vertebra deformity equivalent to compressive deformation, there is little or no case where angular deformity is recognized as disability. Given the impairment evaluation standards in social insurance, McBride system, American Medical Association (AMA) guides, and newly proposed standards by the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences (KAMS), the most contentious point in the general terms and conditions of private insurance is spinal deformity. To overcome controversy over disability evaluation, the private insurance sector is now applying criteria for axial skeleton to sacrococcygeal vertebrae through revision of standards. Under these circumstances, it is fair to recognize sacrococcygeal fracture as impairment in terms of the pelvis only when the fracture leaves serious deformity and neurological symptoms with clear relevancy. Though it may not be easy to develop accurate disability evaluation standards, improvement is necessary to remove any irrationalities and make the standards as objective as possible.

• Korean Journal of Biological Psychiatry
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• v.15 no.4
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• pp.310-315
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• 2008

Objectives : The evaluation of disability after trauma in psychiatry is relatively subjective compared with other departments. A consensus among evaluators could improve reliability of evaluations. We compared disability rate of common psychiatric disorders without definite brain injury depending on their diagnosis from experienced evaluators in Korea. Methods : A written questionnaire was mailed to each evaluator and the reply was analyzed. The questions included disability rate ranges of postconcussional syndrome, PTSD and depression. Other questions related with admission for evaluation, expected duration of treatment, life expectancy and need of supporting person were also asked. Results : Range of disability rate were from $8.6{\pm}4.5%$ to $26.6{\pm}12.8%$ in postconcussional syndrome, from $10.4{\pm}6.8%$ to $36.4{\pm}13.8%$ in PTSD and from $10.0{\pm}4.6%$ to $30.6{\pm}10.3%$ in depressive disorder. There were lots of diversity in expected duration of treatment with psychiatric disability. Decline of life expectancy and need of supporting person were considered at least 50% of disability. Conclusion : There is much diversity in evaluation of psychiatric disabilities with disability rate and expected duration of treatments even among experienced evaluators. A common consensus among experts may increase reliability of psychiatric evaluations after trauma.

• The Korean Journal of Rehabilitation Nursing
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.45-57
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• 2007

Purpose: The study tried to suggest the ways to improve the national disability welfare information projects with evaluating the present condition of the projects. Method: Firstly, the study analyzed the disability information system and disability websites. Secondly, the study found out the problems of the registration of disability and management system through the situation analysis. Finally, the study conducted a survey of the disabled and the information system workers and performance evaluation of the information system. Result: The study offered a proposal of The Disability Unity Management System(DUMS) for the disability registration and management. When the disabled visit the hospital or the public health center, their information is registered automatically in The Disability Unity Management System(DUMS), which helps not to miss out the disability registration. Through this system, they are given the proper service which they need, and the information can be shared with the facilities providing the service for the disabled. Conclusion: The Disability Unity Management System(DUMS) contributes significantly in avoiding the repetition of the support for the disabled and improving the quality of service.

• Asia-pacific Journal of Multimedia Services Convergent with Art, Humanities, and Sociology
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.889-899
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• 2017

Various efforts and technical development for integrating the ICT technologies to the area of special needs education have been continuing. In this paper we have studied and implemented various ICT-based disability evaluation websites and mobile applications for special needs education and also verified their usefulness from the field test at disability schools. The valuer can access the websites and mobile applications for autistic behavior or learning disability evaluation at the any places and by any devices such as laptop, PC, smartphone and tablet PC. And all the evalation results are stored into and managed at the server database and shared with websites and mobile applications to integrate together easily. From the study about disability evaluation and implementation results we have a confidence that they will be useful to support the seamless evaluation and the continuous monitoring services for the disabled at the special needs education fields.

• Journal of the Korean Orthopaedic Association
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• v.55 no.5
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• pp.366-373
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• 2020

The task of defining the concept of 'disability' has proven to be surprisingly difficult. The way disability is assessed in the world suggests that very different conceptions of disability are being presumed. It is very hard to suggest appropriate criteria for assessing a disability that accurately demonstrates the presence and measures the severity of the disability, with proven consistency and validity provided by the assessors consuming the time and cost that the society can afford. When a rigorous framework in disability assessment procedures is used, discretion is then considerably restricted. Limited discretion tends to produce more consistency and validity in the assessment but at the cost of ignoring the individual differences or exceptional circumstances. The disability approach among the categories of the disability assessment is both the oldest and the most commonly used strategy of disability assessment around the world. Most of the criteria of disability assessment in Korea belongs to this. The McBride's criteria for disability evaluations can be used to obtain the ratio of body impairment and work disability without spending too much time and is being applied in court. Nevertheless, there are many errors and controversies, and corrections are required. On the other hand, an improvement plan for a disability evaluation method in Korea is to supplement and use the McBride's disability assessment method, which is currently the most widely used. This review article describes the conception of disability and the assessment of disability, and introduces the models of the assessment of disability to determine if the application of the McBride's criteria of disability evaluation can be justified.

• Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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• v.45 no.5
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• pp.293-296
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• 2009

Objective : Pain has long been regarded as a subjective symptom. Recently, however, some regard a type of intractable chronic pain as a disease. Furthermore, chronic persistent pain becomes a cause of permanent impairment (PI) In 6th edition, the American Medical Association (AMA) Guides has rated the pain as a PI. In Korea, pain has been already been rated as a PI. Here, we examined the present status and the prospect of disability evaluation for the pain in Korea. Methods : Pain can be rated as a PI by the Workmen's Compensation Insurance Act (WCIA) and Patriots and Veterans Welfare Corporation Act (PVWCA) in Korea. We examined the definition, diagnostic criteria and grades of the pain related disability (PRD) in these two acts. We also examined legal judgments, which were made in 2005 for patients with severe pain. We also compared the acts and the judgments to the criteria of the 6th AMA Guides. Results : The PRD can berated as one of the 4 grades according to the WCIA. The provisions of the law do not limit the pain only for the complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). The PRD can berated as one of the 3 grades by the PVWCA. If there were objective signs such as osteoporosis, joint contracture and muscle atrophy corresponding to the CRPS, the grade is rated as 6. When the pain always interferes with one's job except easy work,the grade is rated as high as 5. In Korea, judicial precedents dealt the pain a sa permanent disability in 2005. Conclusion : Although there were no objective criteria for evaluation of the PRD, pain has been already rated as a PI by the laws or judicial precedents, in Korea. Thus, we should regulate the Korean criteria of PRD like the AMA 6th edition. We also should develop the objective tools for evaluation of the PRD near in future.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.20 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 2007

Pain is one of the most common causes of disability and work loss. However, patients with chronic pain have not been regarded as impaired persons in the Republic of Korea because of a lack of objective findings in those patients and difficulties in validating their genuine suffering and quantitative evaluation of pain. Here, the difficulties in the evaluation of impairment in chronic pain patients are discussed. In addition, guidelines for rating impairment in chronic pain patients, which are under development by the Korean Academy of Medical Sciences, are introduced.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.163-170
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• 2003

Objectives : This study aimed to develop an evaluation protocol of disability weights using person trade-off, and to test the reliability of the developed protocol in a Korean context. Methods : To develop the valuation protocol, the Global Burden of Disease(GBD) and the Dutch studies were replicated and modified. Sixteen indicator conditions were selected from the Korean version of disease classification, which was based on that of the GBD Study, and the person trade-off method referred to the Dutch method. Results : The disability weights were valued in a two step panel sfudy. The first step was a carefully designed group process by three panels, using person trade-off to establish the disability weights for sixteen selected indicator conditions. The second step consisted of interpolation of the remaining diseases, on a disability scale, by the individual members of three panels. The members of three panels were all medical doctors, with sufficient knowledge of the consequences of a broad variety of diseases. The internal consistency of the Korean disability weights was satisfactory. Considerable agreement existed within each panel and among the panels. Conclusions : It was feasible to use a modified evaluation protocol from those used in GBD and Dutch studies, This would provide a rational basis for an international comparative study of disability weights.

• The Journal of Korean Association of Computer Education
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.57-67
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• 2006

The purpose of the research is to designing of web-based expert system in assessment, programming, evaluation for infants and young children with developmental disability. For this purpose, research articles such as curriculum-based assessment evaluation, web-based expert system, use of the computer technology in special education were analyzed. The design of web-based expert system for infants and young children with developmental disability connected with information analysis, optimum levels, data collection, data analysis, decision-making, and intervention.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.199-205
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• 2018

Background: Sleep disturbance and depression are becoming more recognized as important symptoms among individuals with chronic low back pain. This study evaluated the effect of stabilization exercise on pain-related disability, sleep disturbance and the psychological status of patients with non-specific chronic low back pain (NSCLBP). Methods: A total of 26 patients (M/F = 17/9) with NSCLBP with a mean age of $50.0{\pm}15.5$ took part in this study. Participants were recruited from selected hospitals in Lagos state. Ethical approval was sought and obtained from the health research and ethics committee of Lagos University Teaching Hospital Idi-araba, Lagos, Nigeria. Participants performed stabilization exercise for eight weeks consecutively and were assessed for pain-related disability, anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbance using the pain-disability index, hospital anxiety and depression scale, and the insomnia severity index at baseline, the 4th week, and the 8th week, postintervention. Results: The participants studied recorded significant reduction in pain-related disability (P = 0.001). There was also improvement in the sleep quality (P = 0.001), depression level (P = 0.001), and anxiety level (P = 0.001), post intervention. Conclusions: This study revealed that stabilization exercise is very useful in the management of sleep disturbance, pain-related disability, depression, and anxiety in NSCLBP patients.