Abstract
Objectives : Disability research as an academic field was established in the 1960s and 1970s in the Nordic countries and in the Anglo-Saxon world. Disability research was studied within the medical model, e.g. in medical and rehabilitation studies, while disability studies became a part of the social model, e.g. in social and psychological studies. It has been a lack of theoretical perspective in disability research and according to that a discussion of theoretical approaches in disability studies that has been raised during recent years. The aim of the study is to describe and illustrate conceptually how vertical and horizontal knowledge integration appear in disability research, exemplified within a case from a person with acquired brain injury.
Methods : The study adopted a qualitative approach to answer the research aim, undertaking a literature review to accompany an analysis of the concepts, vertical and horizontal. The concepts were thereafter analysed within theories from disability research and exemplified with a case from brain injury rehabilitation.
Results : Tentatively the conceptions, vertical and horizontal, are described and, in addition, a bio-psycho-social perspective is mentioned andtwo theoretical approaches within disability research are described: human functioning sciences and interdisciplinary research. Vertical knowledge integration can be seen as a stratification between differentlevels on a biological, psychological and social level. Horizontal knowledge integration can be understood across varying disabilities. The study indicates that vertical and horizontal knowledge integration in disability research are useful for a broader and deeper understanding of disability and functional impairment where, over the last few years, different theoretical perspectives have become increasingly common. Furthermore, the study shows that acquired brain injury, in a scientific context, has been studied within different levels of society. For example:
●On a biological level, e.g. within biochemical bloodanalysis;
●On a psychological level, e.g. within neuropsychologicaldiagnostics; and
●On a social level, e.g. as a changeover process duringrecovery.
Conclusions : The study indicates that a variety of scientific contributions are needful in our understanding of the phenomenon of living withacquired brain injuryin the contemporary society.