The present report is submitted in response to General Assembly resolution 61/106, by which the Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol thereto. As requested by the Assembly, a brief overview of the status of the Convention as at 3 August 2007 is presented. The report also contains a brief description of technical arrangements on staff and facilities made necessary for the effective performance of the functions of the Conference of States Parties and the Committee under the Convention and the Optional Protocol, and a description on the progressive implementation of standards and guidelines for the accessibility of facilities and services of the United Nations system. Recent efforts of the United Nations and agencies to disseminate information on the Convention and the Optional Protocol are also described.

わかりやすい障害者の権利条約 : 知的障害のある人の権利のために = Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities

Summary Background The COVID-19 pandemic has affected mental health, psychological wellbeing, and social interactions. People with physical disabilities might be particularly likely to be negatively affected, but evidence is scarce. Our aim was to evaluate the emotional and social experience of older people with physical disabilities during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in England. Methods In this longitudinal cohort study, we analysed data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing collected in 2018–19 and June–July, 2020, from participants aged 52 years and older and living in England. Physical disability was defined as impairment in basic and instrumental activities of daily living (ADL) and impaired mobility. Depression, anxiety, loneliness, quality of life, sleep quality, and amount of real-time and written social contact were assessed online or by computer-assisted telephone interviews. Comparisons of experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic of people with and without a physical disability were adjusted statistically for pre-pandemic outcome measures, age, sex, wealth, ethnicity, presence of a spouse or partner, number of people in the household, and chronic pain. All participants with full data available for both surveys were included in the analyses. Findings Between June 3 and July 26, 2020, 5820 participants responded, 4887 of whom had full data available for both the pre-pandemic measures and the COVID-19 survey and were included in the analysis. During the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly more people with ADL impairment had clinically significant symptoms of depression (odds ratio 1·78 [95% CI 1·44–2·19]; p Interpretation People with physical disability might be at particular risk for emotional distress, poor quality of life, and low wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting the need for additional support and targeted mental health services. Funding Economic and Social Research Council/UK Research and Innovation, National Institute on Aging, National Institute for Health Research.

Mental health and social interactions of older people with physical disabilities in England during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal cohort study.

Despite notable scientific and medical advances, broader political, socioeconomic and behavioural factors continue to undercut the response to the COVID-19 pandemic1,2. Here we convened, as part of this Delphi study, a diverse, multidisciplinary panel of 386 academic, health, non-governmental organization, government and other experts in COVID-19 response from 112 countries and territories to recommend specific actions to end this persistent global threat to public health. The panel developed a set of 41 consensus statements and 57 recommendations to governments, health systems, industry and other key stakeholders across six domains: communication; health systems; vaccination; prevention; treatment and care; and inequities. In the wake of nearly three years of fragmented global and national responses, it is instructive to note that three of the highest-ranked recommendations call for the adoption of whole-of-society and whole-of-government approaches1, while maintaining proven prevention measures using a vaccines-plus approach2 that employs a range of public health and financial support measures to complement vaccination. Other recommendations with at least 99% combined agreement advise governments and other stakeholders to improve communication, rebuild public trust and engage communities3 in the management of pandemic responses. The findings of the study, which have been further endorsed by 184 organizations globally, include points of unanimous agreement, as well as six recommendations with >5% disagreement, that provide health and social policy actions to address inadequacies in the pandemic response and help to bring this public health threat to an end. 

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A multinational Delphi consensus to end the COVID-19 public health threat

This study aims to synthesize the literature on any disproportionate health risks or consequences of a COVID-19 infection for people with disabilities. Scoping review with a descriptive thematic analysis was carried out. Up to mid-September 2020, seven scientific databases and three preprint servers were searched to identify empirical or perspective papers. Snowballing searches and expert' consultations also took place. Two independent reviewers were used for the screenings and data extractions. Of 1027 references, 58 were included, 15 of which were empirical articles. The thematic analysis showed that: (1) People with disabilities living in residential or long-term care facilities were more likely to have greater infection rates; (2) Intersecting mediators of greater infection risks were multiple (e.g., lack of accessible information); (3) People with disabilities often face greater health problems when infected; and (4) Unethical disadvantages in the rationing of lifesaving and critical care can be experienced by people with disabilities. Conclusions: Beyond any health-related vulnerabilities (e.g., comorbidity rates), multiple yet modifiable environmental factors can provide disproportionate health risks and consequences of a COVID-19 infection for people with disabilities. Public health and policy measures must prevent or reduce modifiable environmental risks.

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Health Risks and Consequences of a COVID-19 Infection for People with Disabilities: Scoping Review and Descriptive Thematic Analysis.

Research in assistive and rehabilitation robotics is a growing, promising, and challenging field emerged due to various social and medical needs such as aging populations, neuromuscular, and musculoskeletal disorders. Such robots can be used in various day-to-day scenarios or to support motor functionality, training, and rehabilitation. This paper reflects on the human-robot interaction perspective in rehabilitation and assistive robotics and reports on current issues and developments in the field. The survey on the literature reveals that new efforts are put on utilizing machine learning approaches alongside novel developments in sensing technology to adapt the systems with user routines in terms of activities for assistive systems and exercises for rehabilitation devices to fit each user’s need and maximize their effectiveness. A review of recent research and development efforts on human-robot interaction in assistive and rehabilitation robotics is presented in this paper. First, different subdomains in assistive and rehabilitation robotic research are identified, and accordingly, a survey on the background and trends of such developments is provided.

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s43154-020-00015-4.pdf

Human-Robot Interaction in Rehabilitation and Assistance: a Review

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the lives of countless members of the general population. Older adults are known to experience loneliness, age discrimination, and excessive worry. It is therefore reasonable to anticipate that they would experience greater negative outcomes related to the COVID-19 pandemic given their increased isolation and risk for complications than younger adults. Objective: This study aims to synthesize the existing research on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and associated isolation and protective measures, on older adults. The secondary objective is to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and associated isolation and protective measures, on older adults with Alzheimer disease and related dementias. Methods: A rapid review of the published literature was conducted on October 6, 2020, through a search of 6 online databases to synthesize results from published original studies regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on older adults. The Human Development Model conceptual framework–Disability Creation Process was used to describe and understand interactions between personal factors, environmental factors, and life habits. Methods and results are reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses Statement. Results: A total of 135 records were included from the initial search strategy of 13,452 individual studies. Of these, 113 (83.7%) studies were determined to be of level 4 according to the levels of evidence classification by the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine. The presence of psychological symptoms, exacerbation of ageism, and physical deterioration of aged populations were reported in the included studies. Decreased social life and fewer in-person social interactions reported during the COVID-19 pandemic were occasionally associated with reduced quality of life and increased depression. Difficulties accessing services, sleep disturbances, and a reduction of physical activity were also noted. Conclusions: Our results highlight the need for adequate isolation and protective measures. Older adults represent a heterogeneous group, which could explain the contradictory results found in the literature. Individual, organizational, and institutional strategies should be established to ensure that older adults are able to maintain social contacts, preserve family ties, and maintain the ability to give or receive help during the current pandemic. Future studies should focus on specific consequences and needs of more at-risk older adults to ensure their inclusion, both in public health recommendations and considerations made by policy makers.

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Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Older Adults: Rapid Review.

Impact of COVID-19 on people with physical disabilities: A rapid review.

People with upper body disabilities may be limited in their activities of daily living. Robotic arms, such as JACO, are assistive devices that could improve their abilities, independent living, and social participation. However, performing complex tasks with JACO can be time-consuming or tedious. Therefore, some advanced functionalities have been developed to enhance the performance of users. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the performance, in terms of ease of use, task completion time, and participants' perception of usability, of three new algorithms applied to the JACO robotic arm: (1) predefined position, (2) fluidity filter, and (3) drinking mode. The secondary objective is to evaluate differences in performance variables between proportional and non-proportional control modes. Fourteen participants with upper body disabilities completed various tasks with and without these functionalities. Using JACO with the algorithms led to a significant decrease of up to 72% in task completion time and improvements of 2.3 and 2.9 on a 7-point Likert scale for perceived ease of use and usability, respectively. There was no significant difference between control modes. Our results demonstrate that algorithms could produce significant improvements in performing daily living activities.

Assistive robotic arm: Evaluation of the performance of intelligent algorithms.

Assistive robotic devices can be used to help people with upper body disabilities gaining more autonomy in their daily life. Although basic motions such as positioning and orienting an assistive robot gripper in space allow performance of many tasks, it might be time consuming and tedious to perform more complex tasks. To overcome these difficulties, improvements can be implemented at different levels, such as mechanical design, control interfaces and intelligent control algorithms. In order to guide the design of solutions, it is important to assess the impact and potential of different innovations. This paper thus presents the evaluation of three intelligent algorithms aiming to improve the performance of the JACO robotic arm (Kinova Robotics). The evaluated algorithms are 'preset position', 'fluidity filter' and 'drinking mode'. The algorithm evaluation was performed with 14 motorized wheelchair's users and showed a statistically significant improvement of the robot's performance.

Audrey Lebrasseur

Papers

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Older Adults: Rapid Review.

Impact of COVID-19 on people with physical disabilities: A rapid review.

Assistive robotic arm: Evaluation of the performance of intelligent algorithms.

Assistive robotic device: evaluation of intelligent algorithms