Foster Connection Research Articles

Letters From the Board

It is with great pleasure we present the inaugural edition of the Neag School of Education Journal. This project has been in the works for close to two years, beginning with conversations amongst graduate students during the pandemic who were in search of ways to gain experience in research and editing, as well as foster connection with others in graduate school whilst enduring remote learning. Drawing inspiration from various other graduate student-led journals in the field, the Neag School of Education Journal seeks to contribute to the development of graduate-student research and scholarship. Our publishing perspective was designed to prioritize novel ideas in research, tackling common problems in the review process, seeking to provide tailored and quick feedback to our contributors. Our goal is simple: to foster growth in research, whether that be for the authors of the five inaugural pieces or for the editorial board’s development of their editing and feedback skills. In our initial conceptualization of the Journal we wanted to appeal to research and the development of scholarship through soliciting manuscripts ranging from research articles, essays, literature reviews, and reflective pieces. The Journal was designed for graduate students, with graduate students in mind, so we conceptualized novel copyrighting policies to allow for just that: development. We hope that authors take our feedback, and feedback from consumers of their publication, to peer reviewed journals in the future. We hope to see our prior publications (our alumni!) in top peer-reviewed journals, in part thanks to the editor feedback and peer support received at Neag School of Education Journal. We are proudly an open-access journal, contributing to the idea that research should be free and easy to access for all, to bridge the gap between research and practice, and connect academia and tangible implementation. Our featured pieces in this issue tie together themes aligning with the mission of the Journal and the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut. We sought to include articles that improve education and social systems, providing wisdom, innovation, and creativity. We are so excited for you to read the phenomenal work of graduate students across the country in our beautiful first issue. For this inaugural issue we have many people to thank. To Dr. Jennie Weiner, thank you for your unwavering support and commitment to us and your graduate students. You are a wonderful role model as a scholar, academic, and all-around person. Thank you for all you have done for the team. To the dean of the School, Dr. Jason Irizarry, we are forever grateful for your enthusiasm and passion for our work. Thank you for believing in us and using your role at Neag to lift up the work of graduate students. Thank you to the design team at UConn who helped oversee the details of a beautiful first issue, we admire your creativity and collaboration. To the editors, thank you for your time and dedication to providing feedback to our submissions, we appreciate your thoughtfulness and willingness to learn. To the individuals who submitted to our inaugural journal, thank you for your interest. We look forward to continuing to uplift graduate students’ work in years to come. To the board, thank you for the camaraderie, the passion and grit, and for being wonderful friends. To learn more about our team and mission, please visit us at https://education.uconn.edu/neag-journal/

REDUCING AGEISM IN THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY THROUGH INTERGENERATIONAL CONNECTION

Abstract Intergenerational interaction has the potential to reduce ageism and increase feelings of generativity in both younger and older adults. To expand aging education beyond our aging and gerontology classes, we collaborated with our campus LGBT Center and community partners to host several intergenerational conversations between younger and older LGBTQ+ adults and allies. The goal was to foster connection across the generations in the LGBTQ+ community through discussions of topics of mutual interest (e.g., ageism, identity & language). Participants in the LGBTQ+ conversations reported that they valued the opportunity to talk with members of the community from different generations and that the conversations changed their views of one another in a positive way. We will discuss the strengths and challenges of our program, ideas for future programs and research, and suggestions for integrating discussion of LGBTQ+ aging into the classroom.

“Sip & Share”: Building Resilience in Surgery Residency Through Moral Distress Rounds

Resident moral distress rounds were instituted during the COVID-19 pandemic to provide a safe zone for discussion, reflection, and the identification of the ethical challenges contributing to moral distress. The sessions, entitled "Sip & Share," also served to foster connectedness and build resilience. A baseline needs assessment was performed and only 36% of general surgery residents in the program were satisfied with the current non-technical skills curriculum. Only 62% were comfortable with navigating ethical issues in surgery. About 72% were comfortable with leading a goals-of-care discussion, and 63% of residents were comfortable with offering surgical palliative care options. Case-based discussions over video conferencing were organized monthly. Each session was structured based on the eight-step methodology described by Morley and Shashidhara. Participation was voluntary. The sessions explored moral distress, and the ethical tensions between patient autonomy and beneficence, and beneficence and non-maleficence. Large general surgery residency in an urban tertiary medical center. General surgery residents. A post-intervention survey was performed with improvement in the satisfaction with the non-technical skills curriculum (70% from 36%). The proportion of residents feeling comfortable with navigating ethical issues in surgery increased from 62% to 72%. A survey was performed to assess the efficacy of the moral distress rounds after eight Sip & Share sessions over ten months. All thirteen respondents agreed that the discussions provided them with the vocabulary to discuss ethical dilemmas and define the ethical principles contributing to their moral distress. 93% were able to apply the templates learned to their practice, 77% felt that the discussions helped mitigate stress. All respondents recommended attending the sessions to other residents. Moral distress rounds provide a structured safe zone for residents to share and process morally distressing experiences. These gatherings mitigate isolation, promote a sense of community, and provide a support network within the residency. In addition, residents are equipped with the vocabulary to identify the ethical principles being challenged and are provided practical take-aways to avoid similar conflicts in the future.

Community, Engagement and Connectedness: Reflections on Pathway Programs at a Regional Australian University

The progressive democratisation of Australian higher education has numerous causes including the increase in the number of universities and therefore university places across the later 20th and into the 21st century, as well as initiatives by governments of different ideological hues to increase the total percentage of the population with a university degree. This latter impulse, in particular, has increased significantly the number of students entering university via pathway programs, meaning programs which provide the opportunity to undertake study to inculcate university-standard skills and enable matriculation into university for people who are otherwise ineligible. The students in pathway programs are sometimes disengaged from learning, coming from so-called non-traditional pathways that may signify a disconnect between them and their institutions of learning. This practice report, therefore, examines efforts to address “connectedness” in pathway programs at a regional university in Australia. The pathway programs at UniSQ College are underpinned by an inclusive and holistic teaching philosophy that supports students’ access to higher education. Through the lenses of social, emotional, cognitive, behavioural, and collaborative engagement, practitioners examined and reflected on ways in which this philosophy was embedded in the day-to-day work of UniSQ College through deliberate efforts to promote and maintain connectedness. By reflecting on and articulating these connections, we have provided a base for developing a future evaluative framework that will critically examine the extent to which our practices, through student engagement, foster connectedness.

The Power of Stories.

Stories hold an important role in the theory and practice of psychoanalysis. Their power derives in part from the fact that humans are biologically programmed for storytelling. Stories foster connection with others, socialization, and identity formation. They are integral to all psychoanalytic theories of therapeutic action, and their telling is therapeutic in itself. Psychoanalytic theoretical paradigms can be considered stories, as well. A positive outcome of analytic treatment has the individual emerging with an open-ended story that encompasses past, present, and future. Finally, an autobiographical example demonstrates how shared stories consolidate group identities, uphold and perpetuate a group's power over others, and perpetuate racial and ethnic stereotypes.

"Everyone Has Their Story": Intergroup Dialogue's Potential to Cultivate Connection Through the Sharing of Migration Narratives.

Immigrant-origin (I-O) youth face increasing anti-immigrant rhetoric in the USA, including in their schools. School-based intergroup dialogue programming may help I-O youth and their peers build a more inclusionary culture. We qualitatively examined how I-O youth and their peers experienced a week-long school-wide intergroup dialogue program that aimed to foster connection among participants at a Northeastern high school. Participants' (N=159) experience in the program were analyzed using post-program reflections. Participants were 53% female and 74% underclassmen; 59% Latinx, 14% Black, 13% multiracial, 9% White, and 5% Asian and Middle Eastern; generationally, 54% identified as second-generation immigrants, 38% as non-immigrant origin, and 8% as first-generation. Participation in the program produced mixed results. For many, participation led to a greater sense of connection; youth reported that they learned about their peers, the immigrant experience, and sometimes, themselves. Connection was especially fostered among the dominant demographic groups in the school: second-generation and Latinx youth. Learning about others was less likely to cultivate connections when participants could not relate their own experiences, and at times even made participants feel more different from their peers. Intergroup dialogue has the potential to foster connection when participants are able to relate across experiences.

A qualitative study of interactions with oncologists among patients with advanced lung cancer.

IntroductionTo support the care of lung cancer patients, oncologists have needed to stay current on treatment advancements and build relationships with a new group of survivors in an era where lung cancer survivorship has been re-defined. The objectives of the study were to (1) understand the perspectives of advanced lung cancer patients whose tumors have oncogenic alterations about their care experiences with their oncologist(s) and (2) describe the perceptions of advanced lung cancer patients about seeking second opinions and navigating care decisions.MethodsIn this qualitative study, patients with advanced lung cancer (n = 25) on targeted therapies were interviewed to discuss their ongoing experience with their oncologists. We used deductive and inductive qualitative approaches in the coding of the data. We organized the data using the self-determination framework.ResultsPatients described both positive and negative aspects of their care as related to autonomy, provider competency, and connectedness. Patients sought second opinions for three primary reasons: expertise, authoritative advice, and access to clinical trial opportunities. When there is disagreement in the treatment plan between the primary oncologist and the specialist, there can be confusion and tension, and patients have to make difficult choices about their path forward.ConclusionsPatients value interactions that support their autonomy, demonstrate the competency of their providers, and foster connectedness. To ensure that patients receive quality and goal-concordant care, developing decision aids and education materials that help patients negotiate recommendations from two providers is an area that deserves further attention.

Staying in School: Connection, Cohesiveness, and Suspension.

Individual-, school-, and neighborhood-level support and connectedness may help to mitigate against school suspensions, which have profound health and social consequences. Most research on social connectedness and suspension has focused only on school connectedness, and much less is known about the effects of individual social support and neighborhood-level connectedness on suspension. We examined associations between all three levels of connectedness and suspension in a cross-sectional analysis of a population-based youth sample in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. The Healthy Allegheny Teen Survey, a county-wide survey of 1813 male and female youth ages 14 to 19, assessed health risk/protective behaviors through random-digit-dialing in 2014. This survey included validated items evaluating each type of support as well as items assessing lifetime history of suspension. Logistic regression models examined associations between suspension and social support, school connectedness, and neighborhood-level cohesion. In fully adjusted logistic regression models examining associations between suspension and each type of support, youth with high social support had 0.38 times the odds of school suspension compared to youth with low social support (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.19-0.74). High levels of school connectedness and neighborhood-level cohesion were also associated with significantly lower odds of suspension (odds ratio [OR] 0.31, 95% CI 0.18-0.53; OR 0.28, 95% CI 0.16-0.47, respectively). Examining all 3 types of support jointly, school connectedness and neighborhood-level cohesion were significantly inversely related to suspension (OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.24-0.71; OR 0.41, 95% CI 0.23-0.74, respectively). Programs that foster connectedness at the individual-, school-, and neighborhood-level may help reduce school suspension.

Using a Limerick Writing Contest to Address Residency and Career Stress and Foster Connection Among Pediatric Residents Approaching Graduation.

As third-year pediatric residents prepare to graduate, they commonly navigate uncertainty around “ending” residency life and transitioning to new professional settings.1 Residents graduating in summer 2021 faced additional emotional challenges in career preparation due to coronavirus-19.2 Our residency program therefore sought to deliver a wellness activity to address residency and career stressors specific to the 2021 graduating class during a previously planned professional development session focusing on career transition.

“What’s Old Is New Again”: Innovative Health Care Leader Rounding—A Strategy to Foster Connection

Establishing a solid leader–staff connection through direct and regular contact is paramount to success within any practice setting. Leader rounding has been an established practice for the last 15 years, but exploring creative ways to round is needed. Limited time, multiple demands, and complex leadership needs during the ongoing COVID pandemic made it even more critical to establish robust strategies to support staff while also providing high visibility for senior leaders. Practical solutions for leader department rounding led by senior leaders are highlighted in this article.

An Exploration of How Biophilic Attributes on Campuses Might Support Student Connectedness to Nature, Others, and Self.

University Campuses remain important settings for nurturing and supporting student health and quality of life (QoL). Research shows the health benefits of nature experiences may be facilitated by campus spaces and activities that afford connectedness. Connectedness to nature, others, and self may allow students to cope with mental fatigue, stress, and a constant need for restoration. Despite recent encouraging trends, we still lack an integrative conceptual framework to describe the mechanisms involved in achieving connectedness for making recommendations for campus design. In this conceptual review, we examine students’ connectedness in campus settings in relation to biophilic elements and attributes. We aim to understand how both direct and indirect pursuits in nature and also place-based experiences on campus foster connectedness and consequently impact students’ health and QoL. Our analysis shows that connectedness seen through the lens of Kellert’s biophilic design principles and aided by Alexander’s pattern language provides a relational and long-term perspective on recommending strategies for connecting students to nature, to others, and to themselves in campus settings.

Sisterhood Birthed through Colonialism

Abstract It is already known that one of the ways in which colonialism operates and exerts harm is by dehumanizing Black, Indigenous, and other racially minoritized populations. Less attention has been paid, however, to the ways in which this dehumanization erodes relations among those colonized. Colonial logics designed to separate and alienate the colonized from each other have been internalized for centuries, preventing communities and individuals from recognizing how they connect. In this piece, the authors draw on their experiences as racially minoritized women in the U.S. academy to reflect on how this colonial legacy has shaped not only their identities but also their identifications—how and with whom they identify. The authors demonstrate what they refer to as a love letter approach that enables them to foster connection, healing, and transformation through dialogue. Most importantly, they highlight the radical potential of finding and articulating love for one another as a form of resisting the very colonial logics that would keep them apart. They conclude the piece with guidance on how to use this approach to connect individuals, communities, and organizations.

EPortfolios for self-regulated learning

ePortfolios in higher education are assumed to be effective at developing and determining complex student competencies and skills highly correspondent to self-regulated learning (SRL). Research validating this assumption, however, is sparse and of varying quality. Drawing on a recent, systematic review of relevant literature by the presenter’s research team, this Pecha Kucha explores major trends and gaps in the research into relationships between ePortfolios and SRL. Corresponding areas and approaches for further research are identified, as well.
 Sustained academic success requires autonomy, agency, and motivation from the learner to effectively plan and execute learning activities (Henri, Morrell & Scott, 2017; Pintrich, 2004). Due to the correspondence of SRL to these characteristics, higher education practitioners and researchers are increasingly interested in how best to support and determine students' SRL development.
 ePortfolios are believed to be a means for accomplishing and evidencing this development. ePortfolios are deliberate, curated collections of work that may provide opportunity for development and demonstration of complex outcomes (Stefani, Mason & Pegler, 2007). This value proposition is based on perceptions that ePortfolios are guided by frameworks for learning rather than predetermined product; centre on active learner engagement and authority; and foster connection and synthesis within and across curricula (Watson, Kuh, Rhodes, Light & Chen, 2016). These criteria strongly overlap with elements of SRL and align with best practices in assessment. ePortfolios are also perceived as a way in which educational technologies may be leveraged to allow students to develop and evidence competencies in innovative ways (Author, 2014).
 The literature supporting such conclusions, however, has recognised problems. These problems range from methodological limitations to a lack of specificity about which activities comprising ePortfolio engagement are most relevant to SRL competencies (Author, 2013; Author, 2018; Rhodes, Chen, Watson, & Garrison, 2014).
 This Pecha Kucha presents results from a systematic review of relevant literature on ePortfolios and SRL. The objectives of the review were to identify methodologically sound studies examining ePortfolio use in relation to SRL, systematically review whether, and how ePortfolio use improves or allows evidence of students’ SRL skills, and propose useful directions for future research and practice.
 A systematic, multi-stage review was conducted of relevant, empirical literature. This yielded only eight studies of sufficient quality and relevance to inform understandings of ePortfolios’ interactions with SRL. Results support the general premise that ePortfolios correlate to SRL development in a higher education context. Limitations within the literature, however, inhibit our ability to establish more specific or causal connections.
 A subsequent thematic analysis of the broader scope of near-acceptable literature yielded a schema of specific, SRL-relevant ePortfolio learning tasks and activities. These have potential for informing practice but require further robust and contextually relevant research. The Pecha Kucha concludes by offering specific suggestions for conducting this research.

Novel Strategies to Reach and Engage Older Veterans During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated public health measures to prevent its spread have important implications for the health and wellbeing of older Veterans. Prior to the pandemic, social isolation was already recognized as a risk for older adults, contributing to increased risk of depression, physical inactivity, and mortality. Stay-at-home orders, social distancing, and transitions to new ways of delivering care have meant that many of the ways in which older Veterans connect with VA and others have changed. Older Veterans and Veterans with serious mental illness (SMI) are especially vulnerable to experience negative impacts from social isolation and loneliness. This symposium will present on four novel and adapted strategies for engaging with older Veterans during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: 1) VA Connection Plans, a whole health intervention to promote social connections for older Veterans with and without SMI (Peeples); 2) telehealth adaptations to PEER, an in-person, peer-delivered exercise intervention for older Veterans with SMI (Muralidharan); 3) VA Compassionate Contact Corps, a VA Voluntary Service program to connect older Veterans with friendly volunteers via telephone (Sullivan); and 4) group telehealth interventions to foster social connection among older Veterans and their families (Weiskittle). Kim Van Orden, geropsychologist and director of the Hope Lab (Helping Older People Engage) at the University of Rochester Medical Center, will serve as discussant.

Interpersonal Physiological Synchrony for Detecting Moments of Connection in Persons With Dementia: A Pilot Study.

Interpersonal physiological synchrony has been successfully used to characterize social interactions and social processes during a variety of interpersonal interactions. There are a handful of measures of interpersonal physiological synchrony, but those that exist have only been validated on able-bodied adults. Here, we present a novel information-theory based measure of interpersonal physiological synchrony—normalized Symbolic Transfer Entropy (NSTE)—and compare its performance with a popular physiological synchrony measure—physiological concordance and single session index (SSI). Using wearable sensors, we measured the electrodermal activity (EDA) of five individuals with dementia and six able-bodied individuals as they participated in a movement activity that aimed to foster connection in persons with dementia. We calculated time-resolved NSTE and SSI measures for case studies of three dyads and compared them against moments of observed interpersonal connection in video recordings of the activity. Our findings suggest that NSTE-based measures of interpersonal physiological synchrony may provide additional advantages over SSI, including resolving moments of ambiguous SSI and providing information about the direction of information flow between participants. This study also investigated the feasibility of using interpersonal synchrony to gain insight into moments of connection experienced by individuals with dementia and further encourages exploration of these measures in other populations with reduced communicative abilities.

The impact of a virtual doctoral student networking group during COVID-19

ABSTRACT Peer and cohort interaction are essential elements in building a sense of community for doctoral students, yet the restrictions placed on universities in the rapidly evolving COVID-19 environment challenged the ways both doctoral students and faculty approached their teaching and learning. In many environments, public health measures forced doctoral programmes to reconsider traditional delivery methods of supervision and peer learning. This study explores the value of a virtual doctoral networking group created to foster academic connection and peer learning during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Uniquely, the membership draws students from both traditional and applied doctoral programs that use different delivery modalities (online and in person) and includes students at various stages of their doctoral studies. Through the use of personal reflections, we created narratives that we analysed thematically using the Braun and Clarke method. Our findings challenge and extend the previous understanding of the cohort model of learning. We demonstrate that the benefits of the cohort model of learning can occur across programs and independent of the stage of progression in the programmes, in a virtual context. These benefits open opportunities to new ways of supporting doctoral students in a post-pandemic environment.

Developing best practices for PPE Portraits across 25 sites: a systematic assessment of\xa0implementation and spread of adaptations using FRAME

BackgroundAdaptation, a form of modification that aims to improve an intervention’s acceptability and sustainability in each context, is essential to successful implementation in some settings. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians have rapidly adapted how they deliver patient care. PPE Portraits are a form of adaptation, whereby health workers affix a postcard size portrait of themselves to the front of their personal protective equipment (PPE) to foster human connection during COVID-19.MethodsWe used the expanded framework for reporting adaptations and modifications to evidence-based interventions (FRAME) method to better understand the reasoning behind and results of each adaptation. We hypothesized that using the FRAME in conjunction with design-thinking would lead to emerging best practices and that we would find adaptation similarities across sites. Throughout multiple implementations across 25 institutions, we piloted, tracked, and analyzed adaptations using FRAME and design thinking. For each adaptation, we assessed the stage of implementation, whether the change was planned, decision makers involved, level of delivery impacted, fidelity to original intervention, and the goal and reasoning for adaptation. We added three crucial components to the FRAME: original purpose of the adaptation, unintended consequences, and alternative adaptations.ResultsWhen implementing PPE Portraits across settings, from a local assisted living center’s memory unit to a pediatric emergency department, several requests for adaptations arose during early development stages before implementation. Adaptations primarily related to (1) provider convenience and comfort, (2) patient populations, and (3) scale. Providers preferred smaller portraits and rounded (rather than square) laminated edges that could potentially injure a patient. Affixing the portrait with a magnet was rejected given the potential choking hazard the magnetic strip presented for children. Other adaptations, related to ease of dissemination, included slowing the process down during early development and providing buttons, which could be produced easily at scale.ConclusionsThe FRAME was used to curate the reasoning for each adaptation and to inform future dissemination. We look forward to utilizing FRAME including our additions and design thinking, to build out a range of PPE Portrait best practices with accompanying costs and benefits.

Telehealth-Based Family Conferences with Implementation of Shared Decision Making Concepts and Humanistic Communication Approach: A Mixed-Methods Prospective Cohort Study.

Smartphone-enabled, telehealth-based family conferences represent an attractive and safe alternative to deliver communication during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some may fear that the therapeutic relationship might be filtered due to a lack of direct human contact. The study aims to explore whether shared decision-making model combining VALUE (Value family statements, Acknowledge emotions, Listen, Understand the patient as a person, Elicit questions) and PLACE (Prepare with intention, Listen intently and completely, Agree on what matters most, Connect with the patient’s story, Explore emotional cues) framework can help physicians respond empathetically to emotional cues and foster human connectedness in a virtual context. Twenty-five virtual family conferences were conducted in a national medical center in Taiwan. The expression of verbal emotional distress was noted in 20% of patients and 20% of family members, while nonverbal distress was observed in 24% and 28%, respectively. On 10-point Likert scale, the satisfaction score was 8.7 ± 1.5 toward overall communication and 9.0 ± 1.1 on meeting the family’s needs. Adopting SDM concepts with VALUE and PLACE approaches helps physicians foster connectedness in telehealth family conferences. The model has high participant satisfaction scores and may improve healthcare quality among the pandemic.

Killing with kindness: Does widespread generalised provisioning of wildlife help or hinder biodiversity conservation efforts?

Provisioning of wildlife with food, water and breeding sites is a globally ubiquitous phenomenon. While some provisioning is targeted at single species of conservation concern, generalised provisioning is more common and can exceed the local availability of natural resources for recipient taxa. Generalised provisioning is enthusiastically promoted by many conservation organisations as a means to foster connection with nature and help wildlife. However, such a vast input of additional resources into the environment must have diverse, ecosystem-wide consequences. Direct effects upon recipient taxa have garnered most research interest, and are generally positive in leading to increased survival, productivity and hence population growth. However, we argue that the wider implications for the recipients' non-provisioned competitors, prey and predators are underappreciated and have the potential to generate pervasive negative impacts for biodiversity. The impact of provisioning has also hitherto been considered predominantly in urban contexts, overlooking the movements of wildlife to and from provisioning sources and the widespread nature of both human settlements and provisioning, underappreciating the potential scale of impact. Using a case study of UK garden bird food and nestbox provisioning, we hypothesise how well-intentioned provisioning could be contributing to widespread ecological community change and homogenisation. This may consequently help drive declines in species of conservation concern by asymmetrically benefitting common and adaptable species, leaving their competitors exposed to enhanced direct competition, hyperpredation, mesopredator release and heightened disease transmission risks. We recommend further research into these ecosystem cascades and a more cautious, evidence-based approach to the encouragement of provisioning wildlife.

Isolated and anxious: A qualitative exploration of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals living with spinal cord injury in the UK

Objective: People living with spinal cord injury (SCI) are often immunocompromised, and at increased risk of respiratory infection. Given the restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, those with SCI may be at increased risk of health deterioration, though how this is experienced is poorly understood. This study explored the experiences of people living with SCI during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design: Participants completed an online survey consisting of demographic questions, and open-ended qualitative questions pertaining to their experiences during the pandemic. Thematic analysis was utilized for the analytical approach. Setting: Community-based sample in the UK. Participants: Participants were recruited via social media outlets of UK-based SCI-specific support charities, and snowball sampling (N = 42, F = 34, M = 8). Results: Key themes included: (1) lost access to health services and support, capturing concerns surrounding barriers to healthcare and rehabilitation, which intensified secondary consequences of SCI such as spasm and pain; (2) health anxiety, which was perpetuated by perceived heightened vulnerabilities to respiratory complications; (3) social isolation, with significantly reduced social contact, even with care providers, compounding health experiences. Conclusion: People living with SCI during the COVID-19 pandemic experienced a variety of personal physical, psychological, and social challenges, each of which could disrupt daily functioning and quality of life. Increased utilization of telehealth is recommended to support continued engagement in rehabilitation, and foster connection and community amongst others with SCI and health professionals.