Health and quality of life of persons with spinal cord lesion in Australia and Sweden

Kreuter, Margareta; Siösteen, A; Erkholm, B; Byström, U; Brown, Douglas J.

doi:10.1038/sj.sc.3101692

Cited by 71 publications

(68 citation statements)

References 34 publications

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“…Further investigations with a number of samples from different geographical areas in Australia will be required before generalizations to the SCI population can be made. Consistent with other studies, 2,17,19 findings indicate that QOL for the average person with SCI is lower than the general population norm, irrespective of age or time since injury. Although the differences in QOL were statistically significant, interpreting the clinical significance of these findings is perhaps more challenging and inherently subjective.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

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The relationship between quality of life and disability across the lifespan for people with spinal cord injury

et al. 2008

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Study design: Prospective cross-sectional survey. Objectives: To compare quality of life (QOL) for people with spinal cord injury (SCI) and their ablebodied peers and to investigate the relationship between QOL and disability (impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions) across the lifespan, for people with SCI. Setting: A community outreach service for people with SCI in Queensland, Australia. Methods: A random sample of 270 individuals who sustained SCI during the past 60 years was surveyed using a guided telephone interview format. The sample was drawn from the archival records of a statewide rehabilitation service. QOL was measured using the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment Instrument-Bref, impairment was measured according to the American Spinal Injury Association classification and the Secondary Condition Surveillance Instrument, activity limitations using the motor subscale of the Functional Independence Measure and participation restrictions using the Community Integration Measure. Lifespan was considered in terms of age and time since injury. Correlation and regression analyses were employed to determine the relationship between QOL and components of disability across the lifespan. Results: QOL was significantly poorer for people with SCI compared to the Australian norm. It was found to be associated with secondary impairments, activity limitations and participation restrictions but not with neurological level, age or time since injury. The single most important predictor of QOL was secondary impairments whereas the second most important predictor was participation. Conclusion: To optimize QOL across the lifespan, rehabilitation services must maintain their focus on functional attainment and minimizing secondary conditions, although at the same time enabling participation.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…2,17 QOL was significantly associated with all components of disability with the exception of primary impairments (level and completeness of injury). The single most important predictor of QOL was the presence of secondary conditions whereas the second most important predictor was the extent of societal participation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

The relationship between quality of life and disability across the lifespan for people with spinal cord injury

et al. 2008

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“…Other studies also show life satisfaction to be related to QoL in the early phase of living with SCI, 22 whereas on the long term, deviating patterns of increase or stability have been reported. 12 No associations between the examined lesion-related characteristics and QoL were found, which is consistent with the literature that impairments due to SCI do not affect QoL directly, but rather through their impact on activities and participation. 1,2 Furthermore, we did not find an association of the examined socio-demographic characteristics age, gender, relationship status and education on QoL in this sample, which is in line with research in SCI populations from different countries.…”

Section: Country Differences In Qolsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…11 A comparison between Sweden and Australia showed no significant difference on global QoL measured with a visual analogue scale. 12 Three studies compared a Western and an Eastern country: United Kingdom versus China, 10 the United States versus China 9 and Sweden versus Japan. 8 These studies showed higher lifesatisfaction scores in the Western country on several life domains.…”

Section: Country Differences In Qolmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quality of life after spinal cord injury: a comparison across six countries

et al. 2012

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Study design: An international cross-sectional study. Objective: To examine the quality of life (QoL) of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) across six countries worldwide, controlling for socio-demographic and lesion-related sample characteristics and using a cross-culturally valid assessment. Methods: Data from 243 persons with SCI from Australia, Brazil, Canada, Israel, South Africa and the United States were analyzed. QoL was measured using five satisfaction items from the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment. Cross-culturally valid, Rasch-transformed scores were used for comparison. Results: Analysis of variance showed a significant difference in QoL between countries (F ¼ 3.938; df ¼ 5; P ¼ 0.002). Shorter time since injury, no paid employment and living in Brazil were significant predictors of lower QoL, explaining 13% of variance in linear regression. Using multilevel regression with country as higher-order variable, time since injury and paid employment remained significant predictors and explained 18% of variance in QoL. The intraclass correlation coefficient (0.05) indicates that 5% of the variability can be accounted for by country. Conclusion: This study showed QoL differences between countries that could not be explained by differences in demographic and lesion-related characteristics. Results point to the relevance of reintegration of people with SCI into the workforce. Further international comparative research using larger samples is recommended.

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“…Yet some previous studies have shown that age is not a statistically important factor for HRQoL in these patients. 22 Our study also showed that satisfaction with social support does not depend on the number of supporters. The number of supporters was generally small but the patients perceived that the quality of social support was high.…”

Section: Sociodemographic Factorsmentioning

confidence: 53%

Health-related quality of life in patients with traumatic spinal cord injury in Estonia

et al. 2014

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Objectives: To describe health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in persons with traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) and to assess factors that affect HRQoL. Study design: Cross-sectional. Methods: Eighty Estonian-speaking TSCI patients from the Estonian TSCI database were included in the study. The RAND-36 questionnaire, the Life Orientation Test, the Emotional State Questionnaire and the Brief Social Support Questionnaire were used. Results: There were 66 men and 14 women; the mean age was 38.9 ± 14.8 years. The mean time that had elapsed since injury was 4.2 years. According to the RAND-36 scales, the lowest scores were given for physical health-related domains, followed by the energy/ fatigue and the general health domains. The regression analysis adjusted to age and gender revealed that age, employment and category of the American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale during the acute phase of injury were significant factors in predicting physical functioning (Po0.001). Age, depression and general anxiety were significant predictors of emotional well-being (Po0.001). Age and depression were independently associated with general health (Po0.001). Conclusion: As expected, physical functioning and physical role limitation were the most pronounced deficits in HRQoL. Compared with data from other countries, all scores for the RAND-36 scales are lower in Estonian TSCI patients. The HRQoL following TSCI is affected by severity of injury, depression, age and employment status. Spinal Cord (2014) 52, 570-575; doi:10.1038/sc.2014.47; published online 6 May 2014 INTRODUCTIONThe annual incidence rate of traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) in Estonia is 39.7 per 1 000 000 population, 1 being the highest among other European countries where the mean incidence rate is about 15 per 1 000 000 population. 2 One possible explanation for this difference in incidence rates is the variance in surveillance methods.Similarly to the other studies, the most frequent cause of TSCI was falls followed by traffic accidents, and the majority of patients were young. 1,2 The TSCI can result in devastating effects not only on physical functioning and independence but also on the psychological and social functioning of the injured person. 3 The outcomes of TSCI can be assessed in several ways, such as physiological functioning as well as social and psychological adjustment. Recently, there has also been growing interest in evaluation of the individual's well-being after diseases or disabilities, because improvement in daily functioning and well-being are important goals in treatment of people with TSCI. The impact of TSCI on quality of life (QOL) is important information, especially for monitoring and organising health-care services. 4 There are no comparable studies from Eastern Europe dealing with how individuals with SCI have scored on HRQoL measures. 5,6 The Medical Outcomes Study 36-item short-form health status survey (MOS SF-36) has proved to be useful in estimating the relative burden of different diseases in general and ...

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Health and quality of life of persons with spinal cord lesion in Australia and Sweden

Cited by 71 publications

References 34 publications

The relationship between quality of life and disability across the lifespan for people with spinal cord injury

The relationship between quality of life and disability across the lifespan for people with spinal cord injury

Quality of life after spinal cord injury: a comparison across six countries

Health-related quality of life in patients with traumatic spinal cord injury in Estonia

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