Objective The objective of this study was to determine the ability of the AM-PAC“6-Clicks” Basic Mobility Short Form to predict patient discharge destination (home vs postacute care facility) from the cardiac intensive care unit (ICU), including patients from the cardiothoracic surgical ICU (CTS-ICU) and coronary care unit (CCU). Methods This retrospective cohort study utilized electronic medical records of patients in cardiac ICU (n = 359) in an academic teaching hospital in the southeastern region of United States from September 1, 2017, through August 31, 2018. Results The median interquartile range (IQR) age of the sample was 68 (75–60), 55% were men, median IQR “6-Clicks” score was 16 (20–12) at physical therapist evaluation, and 79% of the patients were discharged to home. Higher score on “6-Clicks” indicates improved function. A prediction model was constructed based on a machine learning approach using a classification tree. The classification tree was constructed and evaluated by dividing the sample into a train-test split using the Leave-One-Out cross-validation approach. The classification tree split the data into 4 distinct groups along with their predicted outcomes. Patients with a “6-Clicks” score > 15.5 and a “6-Clicks” score between 11.5 and 15.5 with primary insurance other than Medicare were discharged to home. Patients with a “6-Clicks” score between 11.5 and 15.5 with Medicare insurance and those with 6-Clicks score ≤ 11.5 were discharged to a postacute care facility. Conclusions Patients with lower “6-Clicks” scores were more likely to be discharged to a postacute care facility. Patients without Medicare insurance had to be significantly lower functioning indicated by lower “6-Clicks” scores for postacute care facility placement than those with Medicare insurance. Impact The ability of “6-Clicks” along with primary insurance to determine discharge destination allows for early discharge planning from cardiac ICUs.

BackgroundTask‐specific motor training and repetitive practice are essential components of clinical rehabilitation. Emerging evidence suggests that incorporating gaming interfaces (also referred to as “exergames”), including virtual reality and augmented reality (VR/AR)‐based interfaces for motor training, can enhance the engagement and efficacy of poststroke rehabilitation.ObjectiveTo investigate perceptions of individuals with stroke regarding technology and exergames for rehabilitation.DesignThis qualitative phenomenological study included a convenience sample of 11 individuals with stroke (61.7 ± 12.4 years, 6 women and 5 men, 63.5 ± 41.2 months post stroke).SettingCommunity.InterventionsN/A.Outcome MeasuresSemistructured open‐ended focus‐group interviews to understand their perceptions on technology and exergames to improve recovery were coded using thematic content analysis.ResultsIndividuals with stroke were comfortable using smartphones, computers, and rehabilitation technologies but had limited experiences using exergames and VR/AR devices. Individuals with stroke were motivated to use technologies and exergames to improve their functional recovery. Participants identified facilitators (eg, enhancing functional recovery, feedback, therapist supervision) and barriers (eg, safety, inaccessibility, inadequate knowledge) to adopting exergames in their daily lives. Participants wanted the exergames to be customizable, goal oriented, and enjoyable to maintain their engagement. They were willing to use exergames to improve their functional recovery but indicated that these games could not replace the therapist's supervision.ConclusionsDespite having limited experiences with exergames, people post stroke perceived that exergames could promote functional recovery. The perspectives gained from the present study can inform user‐centered game design for neurorehabilitation.

An inclusive science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce is needed to maintain America's leadership in the scientific enterprise. Increasing the participation of underrepresented groups in STEM, including persons with disabilities, requires national attention to fully engage the nation's citizens in transforming its STEM enterprise. To address this need, a number of initiatives, such as AccessCSforALL, Bootstrap, and CSforAll, are making efforts to make Computer Science inclusive to the 7.4 million K-12 students with disabilities in the U.S. Of special interest to our project are those K-12 students with hearing impairments. American Sign Language (ASL) is the primary means of communication for an estimated 500,000 people in the United States, yet there are limited online resources providing Computer Science instruction in ASL. This paper introduces a new project designed to support Deaf/Hard of Hearing (D/HH) K-12 students and sign interpreters in acquiring knowledge of complex Computer Science concepts. We discuss the motivation for the project and an early design of the accessible block-based Computer Science curriculum to engage D/HH students in hands-on computing education.

This paper describes the model used by the Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology (RST) at the University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) to teach the fundamentals of design using the development of assistive technology as the design objective. Our program, Technology Innovations for People with Disabilities (TIPeD), creates an ecosystem around design through the conceptualization, development, and commercialization of products. Through two classes, a fabrication lab (FabLab), and programs for both traditional (undergraduate and graduate students) and non-traditional (teachers and veterans) trainees, we facilitate experiential learning activities to convey design and product innovation principles. Undergraduate and graduate students progress through formal learning activities to be able to serve as mentors for our non-traditional trainees who are preparing for one of two pathways. Military veterans in our Experiential Learning for Veterans in Assistive Technology and Engineering (ELeVATE) program use our design and product innovation activities as a mechanism to get excited about and prepare for a transition in to formal education in engineering and technology. Teachers in our Research Experience for Teachers (RET) program use our activities as a mechanism to learn about engineering and design to create high school science and math curricular units to excite their students about science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) careers. Though the purpose of this paper is to present and describe this program model, we chose to include both formative and summative evaluation procedures, in addition to preliminary results, to help demonstrate our efforts for continuous improvement of the program.

since 2007, where she has served as Co-PI on four training programs in the field of assistive technology for undergraduates, veterans, and Masters students. She is dually involved with the Research Experience for Undergraduates and Teachers programs, in addition to other education initiatives at the Quality of Life Technology Center, all funded by National Science Foundation. Ms. Goldberg is pursuing her PhD in Administrative and Policy Studies of Education with an expected completion of fall 2013 focusing on measuring the effectiveness of online training related to assistive technology.