Rehabilitation Studies Unit at the University of Edinburgh

Abstract

The author was appointed to the Chair of Rehabilitation Studies in the University of Edinburgh in 1974. Since then specialised services in Rehabilitation Medicine have been introduced for locomotor, cardiac, and neurological disorders. These are based on multiprofessional teams, practising the bio-psycho-social approach to tackle the patient's problems. Research studies are under way on some aspects of these clinical problems, and on evaluation of rehabilitation services and of equipment for disability. Four Occupational Therapists have had a key role in measurements of outcome, particularly related to the needs of wheelchair users, the mobility of those eligible for Mobility Allowance, morbidity from hand injury, and the role of specialised equipment in assisting severely disabled people to live in the community. Advice and teaching is based on the knowledge and experience gained from those clinical and research studies.