Psychosocial Considerations in Spinal Cord Injury
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Introduction[edit | edit source]
Spinal cord injury (SCI) has the potential of resulting in devastating consequences after occurrence.[1] Often, the management of SCI is centered on the motor, sensory, and autonomic dysfunctions, yet SCI can have tremendous psychosocial consequences on affected individuals.[2][3][4] Research has shown that many with sudden onset of SCI will exhibit extreme negative emotions after a SCI which can impair psychological as well as social integration after an injury.[1] Also, mental health problems such as anxiety, depression, post traumatic stress disorder among others may be at an elevated level for people with SCI,[3][4] with psychological and social factors having a role to play in both the incidence and progression of these mental health problems.[5] Thus, it is necessary to pay attention to these psychosocial factors which may have extreme consequences on achieving remarkable rehabilitation goals and improving the quality of life of people with SCIs,[1]
Incidence of Psychosocial Issues in Patients with Spinal Cord Injury[edit | edit source]
The advances in the medical management following spinal cord injury has increased the life expectancy of patients with spinal cord injury has considerably increased in recent years.[6] Yet SCI leads to considerable physical disability and also secondary medical complications[2]. Furthermore, there has been reports of abnormal incidence of substance abuse,[7] psychological morbidity,[8] and risk of suicide in patients with spinal cord injury.[7]
A research showed that psychological and social support factors are related to subjective well being in patients with SCI.[3] A systematic review on psychological morbidity in revealed that up to 30% of people with SCI are at the risk of having a depressive disorder, with higher relative risk of anxiety disorder, increased level of anxiety, poor quality of life (QoL) and feelings of helplessness.[8]
In a study[9] in Iran on psychosocial outcomes following SCI, there were findings of psychosocial problems that were associated with financial hardship, basically due to unemployment, high cost of living, with other factors such as difficulty in transportation, inadequate home modifications, marriage, social communication, education, sports and entertainment. These issues were also found to vary with the gender of persons with SCI.[9]
Resources[edit | edit source]
- Psychosocial Guidelines in Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation
- Psychosocial Adjustments after Spinal Cord Injury
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Dezarnaulds A, Ilchef R. Psychological adjustment after spinal cord injury. Useful Strategies for Health Professionals. Agency for Clinical Innovation. 2014.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Dijkers MP. Quality of life of individuals with spinal cord injury: a review of conceptualization, measurement, and research findings. Journal of rehabilitation research and development. 2005 May 1;42(3):87.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Post MW, Van Leeuwen CM. Psychosocial issues in spinal cord injury: a review. Spinal cord. 2012 May;50(5):382-9.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 North NT. The psychological effects of spinal cord injury: a review. Spinal cord. 1999 Oct;37(10):671-9.
- ↑ Chevalier Z, Kennedy P, Sherlock O. Spinal cord injury, coping and psychological adjustment: a literature review. Spinal Cord 2009; 47: 778–782.
- ↑ Strauss DJ, DeVivo MJ, Paculdo DR, Shavelle RM . Trends in life expectancy after spinal cord injury. Arch Phys Med Rehabil 2006; 87: 1079–1085.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 North NT . The psychological effects of spinal cord injury: a review. Spinal Cord 1999; 37: 671–679.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Craig A, Tran Y, Middleton J . Psychological morbidity and spinal cord injury. Spinal Cord 2009; 47: 108–114.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Khazaeipour Z, Norouzi-Javidan A, Kaveh M, Khanzadeh Mehrabani F, Kazazi E, Emami-Razavi SH. Psychosocial outcomes following spinal cord injury in Iran. The journal of spinal cord medicine. 2014 May 1;37(3):338-45.
