Health-related quality of life after pediatric spinal cord injury.
OBJECTIVE
To describe health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among youth with spinal cord injury (SCI), examine agreement between child and caregiver report HRQOL, investigate relationships between HRQOL and demographic, injury and psychological variables.


METHODS
Caregivers and youth with SCI completed a pediatric HRQOL measure and mental health measures; injury information was gathered from medical records.


RESULTS
One hundred and ninety-seven youth with SCI and their caregivers participated. HRQOL was associated with current age, age at injury, level of injury and child and caregiver anxiety/depression. Child mental health significantly predicted child-report HRQOL (p < .001, f(2)=1.07), whereas child (p < .001, f(2) = 0.098) and caregiver (p < .001, f(2) = 0.277) mental health both significantly predicted caregiver-report HRQOL. Agreement between child-report and caregiver-report was moderate at best, with youth rating their HRQOL as better than their caregivers.


CONCLUSIONS
Mental health of youth and caregivers is critical to HRQOL in pediatric SCI. Interventions to optimize psychological adjustment should be provided to both caregivers and youth.
Garma
Sylvia I
SI
Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, University of California, Davis, 2230 Stockton Blvd., Sacramento, CA 95817, USA. sylvia.garma@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu
Kelly
Erin H
EH
Daharsh
Erica Z
EZ
Vogel
Lawrence C
LC
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000293:Adolescent; D001007:Anxiety / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003863:Depression / Q000523:psychology; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008603:Mental Health; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011788:Quality of Life / Q000523:psychology*; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires