Dysfunction of the nervous system comprises a significant and growing proportion of the global burden of disease and disorder. Developmental disabilities, autism, dementia, stroke, dystonias, seizure, traumatic brain injuries, PTSD, as well as neurodegenerative conditions such as ALS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s disease are all significant influences that govern mortality and morbidity in all reaches of the globe. However, the means and facilities necessary to address the needs of people living with disability remain disproportionately inadequate. Neurology and rehabilitation services in Western countries vary between 1 and 10 neurologists per 100,000 inhabitants. However, neurological services either do not exist or are marginal in many regions of the world. With an estimated 15% of the world’s population living with some form of disability, the shortage of rehabilitation facilities affects the West as well as the developing world. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross’s Special Fund for the Disabled, up to 80% of the world’s population living with disabilities are in countries where local health resources are insufficient to meet rehabilitation needs.
We possess a paucity of information regarding national and international strategies, programs and resources for clinical management of neurologically impaired and aging populations. Understanding transnational issues relating to neurological and neurobehavioral dysfunction, improving collaborations in research and the provision of services which hugely impact patient safety and quality of life are not simply a priority in research and health provision, but an opportunity to address a gap in health provision that could affect all of us in some way in our lifetime.
With under-resourced healthcare systems and families struggling with basic necessities for living, research that highlights low-cost health interventions, effective health education programs and strategies for improved chronic care significantly impacts the care of adults and children with disabilities.
We may likely be able to avoid many difficulties in development such as autism, or the heavy burden we now have on the health care system for the medical care of those arriving at the “Fourth Age,” that could have been averted or reduced by interventions or lifestyle changes earlier in life. We might be better able to impact on global health and healthcare with a better understanding of how to effect optimized human function by better understanding the nature of humans at work, play, and during activities of daily living as well as by understanding our the effects on the nervous system of the environment in which we live.
Dysfunction of the nervous system comprises a significant and growing proportion of the global burden of disease and disorder. Developmental disabilities, autism, dementia, stroke, dystonias, seizure, traumatic brain injuries, PTSD, as well as neurodegenerative conditions such as ALS, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s disease are all significant influences that govern mortality and morbidity in all reaches of the globe. However, the means and facilities necessary to address the needs of people living with disability remain disproportionately inadequate. Neurology and rehabilitation services in Western countries vary between 1 and 10 neurologists per 100,000 inhabitants. However, neurological services either do not exist or are marginal in many regions of the world. With an estimated 15% of the world’s population living with some form of disability, the shortage of rehabilitation facilities affects the West as well as the developing world. According to the International Committee of the Red Cross’s Special Fund for the Disabled, up to 80% of the world’s population living with disabilities are in countries where local health resources are insufficient to meet rehabilitation needs.
We possess a paucity of information regarding national and international strategies, programs and resources for clinical management of neurologically impaired and aging populations. Understanding transnational issues relating to neurological and neurobehavioral dysfunction, improving collaborations in research and the provision of services which hugely impact patient safety and quality of life are not simply a priority in research and health provision, but an opportunity to address a gap in health provision that could affect all of us in some way in our lifetime.
With under-resourced healthcare systems and families struggling with basic necessities for living, research that highlights low-cost health interventions, effective health education programs and strategies for improved chronic care significantly impacts the care of adults and children with disabilities.
We may likely be able to avoid many difficulties in development such as autism, or the heavy burden we now have on the health care system for the medical care of those arriving at the “Fourth Age,” that could have been averted or reduced by interventions or lifestyle changes earlier in life. We might be better able to impact on global health and healthcare with a better understanding of how to effect optimized human function by better understanding the nature of humans at work, play, and during activities of daily living as well as by understanding our the effects on the nervous system of the environment in which we live.
