Social Support Pairs Predict Daily Functioning Following Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Abstract:Aim: This exploratory study assessed (1) the associations between three major types of social support (perceived, actual and structural) and post-injury daily functioning and (2) the ability of subjective-objective social support dyads to predict rehabilitation outcome among traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) patients one-year postdischarge.Method: Using a prospective study design, 20 SCI patients of workforce age discharged from the Royal Talbot Rehabilitation Hospital, Melbourne, Australia during 2007 were assessed on a range of demographic, injury and social support variables. Post-injury daily functioning was assessed 12-months post-discharge.Results: Bivariate analyses revealed that the three major types of social support were associated with better post-injury daily functioning. Multivariate analyses revealed that the dyad of (subjective) perceived social support and (objective) community integration was the best predictor of successful rehabilitation outcome. For all three social support dyads, the subjective component contributed greater unique variance to the overall predictive ability of the model than did the accompanying objective component. Conclusions:Use of psychometrically sound scales that incorporate objective and subjective measures of social support may provide a more effective means of evaluating the contribution of social support to rehabilitation outcome, plus indicate whether desired social support levels satisfactorily match those received.

Educational Possibilities of Social Network for Persons with Spinal Injuries

“…Tyrimo rezultatai buvo panašūs į užsienio autorių publikuotus [1,2,4]. Neabejotinai socialinis tinklas yra vienas svarbiausių asmenims, patyrusiems stuburo traumas.…”

“…Socialinio tinklo narių palaikymas lemia pozityvesnę asmens gyvenimo kokybę, rečiau patiriamas stresas dėl atsiradusios negalios [3], taip pat šis palaikymas yra svarbiausias veiksnys, lemiantis asmens veiksmų ateities projekciją [14]. Be to, socialinis palaikymas asmens, patyrusio stuburo traumą, yra svarbus veiksnys, lemiantis greitesnį jo gijimą reabilitacijos procese [4]. Šie užsienio autorių tyrimai leidžia teigti, kad socialinis tinklas yra labai svarbus žmogui po stuburo traumos.…”

Collaboration of Patients With Mobility Disabilities in Caring: Conceptual Analysis

“…Ohare, Walls, and Murphy reported that understood social support has a direct effect on health similar to that of exchanging information and knowledge on providing independency, and produces a desirable mental situation [37]. The key to collaboration pattern may be a mutual relation together with trust because informative support and patients' sufficient support while in hospital improve their self-confidence [38]. This is a key which can open all the locks on health systems, and on a large scale, all the locks on human procedures.…”

“…The mobility rehabilitation is an indicator for effective adaptation to accept the patients' present condition and as a result develop willingness for collaboration in caring. Findings in the studies by Frazen and Peden show that the victims injured by traffic accidents are in doubt and ambiguity about the possibility of their health recovery and they do their best to return to their normal life, although they are in great need of support and security which should be given by their treating team, especially the nurses [38,41]. By maintaining human communication, certified nurses help the patients find their courage and capability to adapt to their critical illness.…”

Factors determining social (interpersonal) support in patients with vertebro-spinal cord injury

“…При этом субъективная оценка соци-альной поддержки может сильно отличаться от предложен-ной, доступной или даже реально полученной поддержки, поскольку межличностные отношения при этом могут но-сить негативный характер и наносить урон психологическо-му благополучию личности. Поэтому в исследованиях соци-альной поддержки необходимо оценивать выраженность всех ее разновидностей [12]. Важно подчеркнуть, что в нор-ме, по мере взросления, число участников социальной сети человека постепенно увеличивается, но с возрастом количе-ство близких отношений в социальной сети постепенно со-кращается.…”