In older adults, social participation is an important component of rehabilitation and health promotion. Several studies have attempted to describe the definition and concepts of social participation, and there were many outcomes to measure social participation. This overview provides information about representative social participation and related concepts that have been defined in the literature. A standardized definition of social participation has not been developed; commonly, recognition for social participation was proposed as focused on involvement in social activities that provide interaction with others in a society or community. Many instruments assess the various aspects of social participation. Because of operational definition and diversity in social participation, performance in social participation was adopted as an aspect of assessment. Further discussions are needed to clarify the definition of social participation and evaluate the instruments used to assess social participation for it to be useful for rehabilitation and health promotion. In doing so, determining and developing assessment and intervention based on the purpose or perspective of social participation in older adults with and without disabilities is important.

Ataxic handwriting with increased movement noise is characterized by irregular pen tip movements unconstrained by the finger or wrist. The severity of ataxia is correlated with these unconstrained movements.

The purpose of this study was to examine the test-retest reliability and minimal detectable change (MDC) of reach distance and movement angle analyses using Image J. [Participants and Methods] Thirtyeight healthy young males performed the functional reach test (FRT) twice, and their reach movements were recorded using a digital video camera. Image J was used to combine the digital photographs taken at the start position and maximum reach and to measure each movement. The measurements recorded were the movement distance of the third metacarpal bone (reach distance), anterior-superior iliac spine, and trochanter major, and the angles recorded were the acromion-malleolus lateralis, acromion-trochanter major, and trochanter major-malleolus lateralis. The reliability of all the measurements was analyzed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), Bland-Altman plots, and MDCs. [Results] The ICCs (1, 1) were >0.80 for all the outcomes. The Bland-Altman analysis revealed no systematic bias in any outcome. The MDC of reach distance was 18.3 mm. [Conclusion] Measurement using Image J for reach distance and movement angles in the FRT showed acceptable high test-retest reliability. Measurement of the FRT and the MDC calculated in this study could be used as a reference for further research.

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Objective: Handwriting, which consists of multiple joint movements in the upper extremity, is a suitable model to investigate motor control after hemiplegic stroke. We analyzed pen tip movement during handwriting in relation to the finger and wrist to reveal tightening and joint linkage that control writing movements done by a hemiplegic hand. Methods: Thirteen right-handed individuals with right-sided mild hemiplegia after a stroke and 14 age-matched, right-handed controls were included. Movements of the pen tip, finger, and wrist were recorded using a three-dimensional movement analyzer. We investigated their writing performance by measuring writing time, variabilities of pen tip kinematics and trajectory. Movement linkage of the joints during writing was quantified by calculating the ratio of the trajectory size at the finger or wrist to that at the pen tip. Results: The time needed for writing and the kinematic variability did not differ between the hemiplegic and control groups. The tight linkage of the pen tip with the finger and wrist joint movement was found in hemiplegic handwriting, which was similar to nondominant hand use in the controls. The linkage parameter of hemiplegic handwriting significantly correlated with writing time and kinematic variability of the pen tip movement. Conclusion: Individuals with dominant-hand hemiplegia, in an attempt to produce consistently legible writing, may tighten the joint linkage of the finger and wrist to reduce the freedom of motion to control writing and simultaneously slow their writing speed, potentially resulting in increased kinematic variability of the pen tip movement.