Secondary conditions in spinal cord injury: results from a prospective survey.
METHODS
Prospective, self-report mail survey with two points of measurement one year apart.


OBJECTIVE
To determine significant predictors of pressure ulcers (PU) and urinary tract infections (UTI) in adults with spinal cord injury (SCI) over 2 years.


METHODS
Non-institutionalized adults with SCI living in the United States of America.


METHODS
Secondary data analysis from 2 consecutive years. Independent variables included demographic, healthcare-related, functional, access to care, and health behavior measures. Dependent variables were the occurrence of PU and UTI at Time 2.


RESULTS
Bivariate analyses showed significant associations between various independent variables and the occurrence of PU and UTI at Time 2. Separate logistic regression analyses for PU and UTI at Time 2 as dependent variables showed that PU at Time 1, not being married or cohabiting, not having access to primary care services when needed, and reporting a greater number of activities of daily living (ADL) requiring assistance were significant predictors of PU at Time 2. UTI at Time 1, a greater number of ADLs requiring assistance, and not engaging in weekly exercise are significant predictors of subsequent occurrence of UTI.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings support previous research, and indicate the need for increased efforts to provide SCI self-management education to at-risk subpopulations, including individuals with greater personal assistance needs and functional limitations.
Kroll
Thilo
T
University of Dundee, Alliance for Self Care Research, School of Nursing & Midwifery, Dundee, Scotland, UK. t.kroll@dundee.ac.uk
Neri
Melinda T
MT
Ho
Pei-Shu
PS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D003668:Pressure Ulcer / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000150:complications*; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014552:Urinary Tract Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*