title: The spinal cord injured female in the veterans hospital: the role of the environment in rehabilitation.
abstract: The outcome of rehabilitation is influenced by the interface of the patient and his/her environment. A primary element is the physical setting in which rehabilitation occurs. This paper discusses the course of rehabilitation of this center's seven, singly admitted, female spinal cord injured (SCI) patients. Four of the patients were admitted to a private room and three were admitted to an open ward with other male SCI patients. Data were collected from clinical records, letters of complaints on discharge, and personal communication. Those patients accommodated in the private room generally reported less satisfaction with rehabilitation received, remained in rehabilitation longer, and appeared to have experienced more difficulty in achieving independence commensurate with their level of injury. Psychosocial issues prevalent with the private room patients were alienation, isolation, anger, and interpersonal conflicts with the nursing staff. Surprisingly, issues of sex differences, privacy, or modesty were not expressed as primary concerns for the open ward patients. These results suggest that in the interest of maximizing the rehabilitative efforts for the females at this center, attention to the setting in which they spend most of their unscheduled time is of major importance.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003258:Consumer Behavior; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans; D006801:Humans; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D010362:Patients' Rooms; D012934:Social Isolation; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*