Community integration in spinal cord injury of long duration

Abstract

Objective: to examine longitudinal changes in community reintegration among people aging with spinal cord injury, and to determine if these changes are related to demographic variables and scores on psychosocial measures of stress, life satisfaction, depression, psychological well-being, and perceived quality of life.

Design: 178 members of a British population-based study of outcomes after spinal cord injury were evaluated at three-year intervals from 1990 to 1999. Participants responded to a questionnaire that included measures of community integration and perceived psychosocial status. Scores and results were analyzed to identify changes over time in community reintegration.

Results: The findings indicate a general decline in community reintegration over time in terms of physical independence, mobility, occupation and social integration. However, economic self-sufficiency appears to steadily improve as time passes. Life satisfaction also declined over time and was related to community reintegration. Measures of emotional distress were not important predictors of community reintegration.

Conclusions: Community reintegration declined over time in this sample of British individuals aging with SCI. Although there were concurrent relationships between demographic variables of age and neurologic group, neither these factors nor duration of injury appeared to impact change in community reintegration. More significant was the relationship between perceived life satisfaction and community integration.