Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 May;44(3):383-391.
doi: 10.1080/10790268.2019.1645407. Epub 2019 Aug 12.

Peer mentoring reduces unplanned readmissions and improves self-efficacy following inpatient rehabilitation for individuals with spinal cord injury

Michael L Jones  1 , Julie Gassaway  1 , W Mark Sweatman  1
Affiliations

Peer mentoring reduces unplanned readmissions and improves self-efficacy following inpatient rehabilitation for individuals with spinal cord injury

Michael L Jones et al. J Spinal Cord Med. 2021 May.

Abstract

Objective: Evaluate effectiveness of peer interventions on self-efficacy, unplanned hospital readmissions, and quality of life for patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) undergoing inpatient rehabilitation.

Design: Interrupted time-series analysis (ITSA) examined effects of peer interventions on unplanned readmissions. Intervention variables added to ITSA regression examined relationships with exposure to peer interventions. Heterogeneity of treatment effects (HTE) analysis examined differences in intervention effectiveness for patients with quadriplegia and paraplegia.

Setting: Rehabilitation hospital specializing in SCI and brain injury.

Participants: SCI inpatients (n = 1117) admitted for rehabilitation whose discharge location was home (77% male, 71% Caucasian, mean age 38.2 (SD 16.8)). A subsample of 799 patients participated in secondary analyses examining relationship between peer interventions, readmissions, changes in patient-reported outcomes, and HTE.

Interventions: One-to-one mentoring and participation in peer-led self-management classes.

Main outcome measures: Unplanned readmissions, general self-efficacy (GSE), and depressive symptoms 30, 90, and 180 days post discharge; satisfaction with life at 180 days.

Results: After implementing the peer interventions, we observed a significant decrease in both level and slope of number of patients readmitted, and level only of unplanned hospital days 30-days post-discharge. Reduction in the number of patients and unplanned hospital days was associated with number of peer visits but not peer-led education classes attended. Higher self-efficacy (GSE) was associated with greater exposure to peer mentoring, and a significant relationship between improvement in GSE and reduced hospital readmissions was observed.

Conclusions: One-to-one peer mentoring improves self-efficacy and reduces unplanned hospital readmissions following inpatient rehabilitation for persons with SCI.

Keywords: Mentors; Peer group; Rehabilitation; Spinal cord injury.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Scatter plot of days rehospitalized × number of peer mentor visits, and noting the LOESS regression curve cut-off between 6 and 7 peer visits, N = 799.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Number of patients rehospitalized 30 days post discharge, N = 1117.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Number of days rehospitalized 30 days post discharge, N = 1117.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Agency for Healthcare Quality and Research . Hospital inpatient statistics. 1996 (No. 99-0034). [cited 2017 November 17]. Available from http://www.ahrq.gov/data/hcup/charts/5diag.htm.
    1. Emerich L, Parsons K, Stein A.. Competent care for persons with spinal cord injury and dysfunction in acute inpatient rehabilitation. Top Spinal Cord Inj Rehab. 2012;18(2):149–66. doi: 10.1310/sci1802-149 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Fiedler I, Laud P, Maiman D, Apple D.. Economics of managed care in spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehab. 1999;80(11):1441–9. doi: 10.1016/S0003-9993(99)90256-3 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Barclay-Goddard R, King J, Dubouloz C, Schwartz C.. Building on transformative learning and response shift theory to investigate health-related quality of life changes over time in individuals with chronic health conditions and disability. Arch Phys Med Rehab. 2012;93(2):214–20. doi: 10.1016/j.apmr.2011.09.010 - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chen D, Apple D, Hudson L, Bode R.. Medical complications during acute rehabilitation following spinal cord injury-current experience of the model systems. Arch Phys Med Rehab. 1999;80:1397–401. doi: 10.1016/S0003-9993(99)90250-2 - DOI - PubMed

Publication types