Prevention strategies for secondary health conditions in people with spinal cord injury: a scoping review protocol.

Objective: The objective of the review is to map existing evidence and to provide an overview of the prevention strategies for secondary health conditions that have been reported in people with spinal cord injuries.

Introduction: Spinal cord injury is a physical disability caused by a lesion in the spinal cord resulting in a loss of sensory and motor function below the affected area. In the lifespan of a person living with spinal cord injury, at least one preventable secondary health condition will develop. These conditions can be predictable and potentially prevented.

Inclusion Criteria: This review will consider studies that include participants 18 years and over with spinal cord injury and report on prevention strategies for secondary health conditions (e.g. pressure sores, urinary tract infection, pain) at all levels of disease prevention (primary, secondary and tertiary level). Studies of any design conducted in a clinical (hospital and primary healthcare facility), home or community-based setting will be considered.

Methods: A three-step search strategy will be used in this review, with an initial search of MEDLINE (PubMed) and CINAHL. Databases to be searched include: PubMed, PEDro, CINAHL, Embase, Scopus, Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition and SPORTDiscus. Government resources (Department of Health website), World Health Organization, Google Scholar and OpenGrey will be searched for unpublished studies. Titles and abstracts will be screened by two independent reviewers. Studies that meet the inclusion criteria will be retrieved and assessed. Results will be presented in narrative and tabular form.