Quality of Life in Spinal Cord Injury
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a change in health status. However, with current new treatment approaches, the life expectancy among people with SCI is near-normal as in the general population. However, they show high incidence of divorce, suicide, and drug
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Springer Science+Business Media LLC 2010 (USA)
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Quality of Life in Spinal Cord Injury
Abstract: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a change in > health status. However, with current new treatment approaches, the life expectancy among people with SCI is near-normal as in the general population. However, they show high incidence of divorce, suicide, and drug abuse. The quality of life (QOL) is an important aspect to evaluate the effects of treatments and > rehabilitation efforts. It could be evaluated objectively or subjectively. Major Determinants of QOL in people with SCI seem to be age, level of injury (LOI), time since injury, employment status, marriage, bowel and bladder functioning, and chronic pain respectively. Different studies have reported different results according to the effects of age and LOI on QOL in SCI. To be employed and married seem to support positively spinal cord injured people’s life. Generalized bodily pain impacts negatively QOL in people with SCI. Different studies from different regions of world regarding the QOL in persons with SCI show different outcomes due to cultural changes. There is no SCI-specific HRQOL instrument. The SF-36 Health Survey has generally been administered. This chapter will be basically focused on the results of QOL in people with SCI. In addition, the concept of QOL in people with SCI and some controversial issues in this field will also be presented. List of Abbreviations: HRQOL, > Health-related quality of life; ICF, International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health; ICIDH, International Classification of Impairments, Disabilities and Handicaps; LOI, Level of injury; QOL, Quality of life; SCI, Spinal cord injury
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Introduction
Research on the health status of spinal cord injury (SCI) survivors has grown during the last years (Lucke and Coccia, 2004; Tate and Kalpakjian, 2002; Unalan and Celik, 2007). SCI has an impact on health status (Andresen and Foots, 1999; Haran and Bonsan, 2005). Many people with SCI report good health. However, research studies point out to the high rates of suicide, self-neglect, divorce, and drug abuse in persons with SCI (Haran and Bonsan, 2005). > Table 220-1 shows key definitions related to the SCI field (Kirshblum and Donovan, 2002). One of the most obvious reasons why health status issues have become so important for those engaged in SCI medicine is that life expectancy for these people has been substantially increasing and approaching that of nondisabled people (Tulsky and Rosenthal, 2002; Unalan and Celik, 2007). Today the maintenance of health, maximal functioning and quality of life (QOL) constitute the three major goals for persons with SCI (Kemp and Ettelson, 2001). Therefore, the QOL has emerged as one of the most frequently investigated topics in SCI. It is a commonly held belief that measuring health status is very important in evaluating the impact of chronic diseases (Unalan and Celik, 2007). A purpose of QOL assessment is to evaluate the effects of treatment (Tate and Kalpakjian, 2002). Anot
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