Psychological distress and user experiences with health care provision in persons living with spinal cord injury for more than 20 years.
METHODS
Descriptive cross-sectional and retrospective study.


OBJECTIVE
To gain more insight into the long-term health status in persons with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI), especially perceived psychological distress as well as self-reports of utilization of healthcare services.


METHODS
Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital, Norway.


METHODS
In total, 147 persons with SCI were examined for more than 20 years and interviewed (in 2004/2005) using a self-administrated questionnaire and General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-20). Descriptive statistics and a logistic regression analysis were conducted to identify variables associated with psychological distress.


RESULTS
Most participants had received SCI follow-up health services at least once after initial rehabilitation; 34% were satisfied, 51% neutral and 18% unsatisfied with the health services provided. Concerning psychological distress, 34 persons were cases according to the GHQ-20. The cases did not differ from non-cases concerning demography, time since injury, injury aetiology, injury severity, marital status or employment status. The regression analysis revealed that cases were associated (P<0.05) with more use of SCI-specific follow-ups.


CONCLUSIONS
In a 20+ years' post-injury SCI population, psychological distress is common and associated with the use of follow-up services. The varying satisfaction of people with SCI about healthcare services is notable, as is the finding that 20% of people with paraplegia did not use specific SCI follow-up services. The experiences of people with SCI with healthcare services need further investigation, and there is also a need for studies that examine the effects of interventions aimed at improving services and patient satisfaction.
Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital, Science Department, Nesoddtangen, Norway.|Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
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Jakimovska
Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital, Science Department, Nesoddtangen, Norway.|Faculty of Medicine, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
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http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7037-1363
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Kostovski
Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital, Science Department, Nesoddtangen, Norway.|Clinic for Spinal Cord Injuries, Rigshospitalet, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
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Biering-Sørensen
Sunnaas Rehabilitation Hospital, Science Department, Nesoddtangen, Norway.
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Lidal
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000523:psychology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D057566:Self Report; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy*; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D055815:Young Adult