Access and engagement with places in the community, and the quality of life among people with spinal cord damage

Abstract

Objectives This study aims to investigate the association between self-reported accessibility and engagement with health services and places in the community, and quality of life (QOL) for people with spinal cord damage (SCD). Design Cross-sectional survey. Setting Community. Participants Two-hundred and sixty-six people with a SCD residing in Australia (Mage = 62.34, SDage = 15.95). Outcome Measure The International Spinal Cord Injury Quality of Life Basic Data Set. Results Univariate regressions demonstrated that accessing a higher number of places in the community was significantly associated with favorable self-reported psychological health (β = .160, P < .01), physical health (β = .144, P < .01), overall well-being (β = .206, P < .01), and QOL (β = .187, P < .01). In contrast, reporting a higher number of inaccessible places was significantly associated with unfavorable self-reported psychological health (β = −.171, P < .01), physical health (β = −.270, P < .001), overall well-being (β = −.238, P < .001), and QOL (β = −.244, P < .001). Being older and living with injury or onset of damage longer were significantly associated with favorable scores across all outcomes (P < .01) except physical health. Conclusions Community engagement can have a considerable impact on the self-reported health and QOL of people with SCD. Interventions aimed at increasing community engagement, particularly for people who have recently experienced SCD are warranted.