title: Using peer mentoring for people with spinal cord injury to enhance self-efficacy beliefs and prevent medical complications.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Individuals with spinal cord injury/disease are faced with a myriad of psychosocial adjustment challenges. This article describes the implementation of a peer-mentoring programme designed to support this adjustment process for people with SCI/disease and the programme's believed impact on self-efficacy and prevention of medical complications.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  With shorter length of stay in acute inpatient rehabilitation after spinal cord injury/disease, peer mentor programmes are becoming an important component to assist with education and community re-integration.
  
  
  METHODS
  Quasi-experimental non-controlled pretest/post-test.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with newly acquired spinal cord injury/disease participated in a one-year spinal cord injury peer-mentoring programme. Peer mentors met with their assigned participants regularly during inpatient care and on discharge to track medical complications and assist with adjusting to life after spinal cord injury/disease.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all, of 37 mentees enrolled, 24 successfully completed the programme. Sixty-seven per cent showed improved self-efficacy score between the two time points. Medical complications and doctor visits all decreased significantly between 0-6 months and 7-12 months. Our findings indicate that the older an individual is, the lower the likelihood of having a urinary tract infection (p = 0.006). The programme was well received by all mentees who felt they could connect well with their peer mentor.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Peer mentoring in a rehabilitation setting enhances the understanding of challenges that patients and medical staff deal with on a day-to-day basis. Our findings suggest it is important to monitor and educate individuals with spinal cord injury/disease at the acute stage to improve medical outcomes. Caution is advised in the interpretation of these results as they were obtained in a small non-random sample using self-report data.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Peer mentors play an increasingly important role in nurse-delivered education in the spinal cord injury/disease population.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Center, National Rehabilitation Hospital, Washington, DC 20010, USA. Inger.H.Ljungberg@Medstar.net
authors.forename: Inger
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Ljungberg
authors.forename: Thilo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kroll
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Libin
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gordon
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008611:Mentors; D008875:Middle Aged; D010379:Peer Group; D020377:Self Efficacy; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D016896:Treatment Outcome