Longitudinal effects of time since injury and age at injury on outcomes of people with spinal cord injury in Queensland, Australia.

Study Design: Longitudinal cohort study.

Objectives: To investigate the longitudinal effects of time since injury and age at injury on outcomes of quality of life, physical function, secondary conditions and participation, in people with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI).

Setting: Community resident people with spinal cord injury in Queensland, Australia.

Factors Which Facilitate or Impede Interpersonal Interactions and Relationships after Spinal Cord Injury: A Scoping Review with Suggestions for Rehabilitation.

Interpersonal interactions and relationships can influence an individual's perceptions of health and quality of life in the presence of disability. In the case of people with spinal cord injury (SCI), positive interpersonal interactions and relationships have been shown to contribute to resilience and adaptability. Understanding factors which facilitate or impede the development and maintenance of relationships after SCI may form the basis for proactive relationship support for people with SCI.

The delivery of specialist spinal cord injury services in Queensland and the potential for telehealth.

Background: The Queensland Spinal Cord Injuries Service (QSCIS) is a statewide service in Brisbane at the Princess Alexandra Hospital (PAH). The QSCIS assists individuals with a spinal cord injury (SCI) through three services: the Spinal Injuries Unit (SIU), Transitional Rehabilitation Program (TRP) and the Spinal Outreach Team (SPOT). The aim of this study was to undertake a review of ambulatory services provided by the QSCIS (SIU and SPOT) to help identify where telehealth may potentially be useful.

General practice visits by people with traumatic spinal cord injury: a Queensland longitudinal study.

People with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI), although proportionally fewer in number, are known to be high users of primary health care services; however, details of their visits to GPs are unclear. This study presents information about GP utilisation patterns of 193 people with SCI over a 5-year period. Results demonstrate substantially greater GP service utilisation, particularly for young men with SCI, compared with their counterparts in the general population.

Investigating changes in quality of life and function along the lifespan for people with spinal cord injury.

Objective: To track changes in quality of life and function for people with spinal cord injury (SCI) along the lifespan.

Design: A wave panel design in which data were collected annually over 5 years across 6 strata that represented different periods since injury.

Setting: Telephone interviews with participants in their home environment.

Descriptions of community by people with spinal cord injuries: concepts to inform community integration and community rehabilitation.

Effective measurement and optimization of re-entry into the community after injury depends on a degree of understanding of how those injured persons actually perceive their community. In light of the limited research about foundational concepts regarding community integration after spinal cord injury, this study investigated how a large number of adults with spinal cord injury described their local communities. In the course of telephonic interviews, qualitative descriptions of community were obtained from 269 participants (1-56 years postinjury).

Reliability of the clinical outcome variables scale when administered via telephone to assess mobility in people with spinal cord injury.

Objective: To examine the equivalence reliability and test-retest reliability of the Clinical Outcome Variables Scale (COVS) when administered via telephone (TCOVS) to people with spinal cord injury (SCI).

Design: Equivalence (telephone administration vs in-person) and test-retest reliability study.

Setting: Assessments conducted in participants' home environment.

Long duration spinal cord injury: perceptions of functional change over time.

Purpose: To investigate perceptions of functional change over time held by individuals with long duration spinal cord injury (SCI) living in Queensland, Australia.

Method: A retrospective telephone questionnaire was administered to 84 individuals who had sustained a SCI more than 20 years previously and were older than 15 at the time of injury. Motor subset scores of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) and a single scale measuring mobility aids status (MAIDS), were collected for three points in time--post discharge from initial rehabilitation (D/C point); approximately 10 years post injury (Mid point) and currently (Current point).

Perceived causes of change in function and quality of life for people with long duration spinal cord injury.

Objective: To determine those factors perceived to change or threaten function and quality of life among individuals with long duration spinal cord injury.

Design: Retrospective self-report using telephone-administered questionnaire.

Setting: Queensland, Australia.