TY - JOUR
T1 - Home aids and personal assistance 10-45 years after spinal cord injury
AU - Biering-Sørensen, T
AU - Hansen, R B
AU - Biering-Sørensen, F
N1 - Keywords: Activities of Daily Living; Adaptation, Psychological; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Cross-Sectional Studies; Denmark; Disability Evaluation; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Home Care Services; Humans; Male; Medical Records; Middle Aged; Paraplegia; Quadriplegia; Questionnaires; Recovery of Function; Retrospective Studies; Spinal Cord Injuries; Time Factors
PY - 2008
Y1 - 2008
N2 - OBJECTIVE: Assessment of home aids, adaptations and personal assistance received after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). SETTING: Clinic for Spinal Cord Injuries, Denmark. Uptake area, 2.5 million inhabitants. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Cross-sectional follow-up with retrospective data from medical files. MATERIALS: Individuals with traumatic SCI before 1 January 1991, still in regular follow-up and with sufficient medical record. In all, 279 were included, and 236 answered the questionnaire (193 men and 43 women), with a response rate of 84.6%. Mean age at follow-up was 50.5 years, and mean follow-up time, 24.1 years. One hundred and twenty-six were paraplegic and 110, tetraplegic. Responders and non-responders were comparable. RESULTS: Most common aids or adaptations reported were commode/shower chair on wheels or a seat (69%), grab bar by the toilet (41%), electrical bed (44%), special mattress (28%), lift/hoist (20%), computers (39%) and kitchen tools or cutlery with special handles (14%). In all, 7.6% of the participants reported no aids. Eighty-two percent answered 'Yes' to the question 'Have the aids, you currently or previously needed, been available to you?' The majority reported that their source of information about aid had been various journals and magazines. Twenty-one percent had personal helpers, with 60 h per week in median (range 2-168). Thirty-three percent received domestic help with 2.5 h per week in median (range 0.5-37). Eight percent had a home nurse. A total of 98.7% were living in their own homes. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study of a representative SCI population giving information on home aids. Individuals with SCI in Denmark seem to be sufficiently supplied with aids and personal assistance.
AB - OBJECTIVE: Assessment of home aids, adaptations and personal assistance received after traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI). SETTING: Clinic for Spinal Cord Injuries, Denmark. Uptake area, 2.5 million inhabitants. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: Cross-sectional follow-up with retrospective data from medical files. MATERIALS: Individuals with traumatic SCI before 1 January 1991, still in regular follow-up and with sufficient medical record. In all, 279 were included, and 236 answered the questionnaire (193 men and 43 women), with a response rate of 84.6%. Mean age at follow-up was 50.5 years, and mean follow-up time, 24.1 years. One hundred and twenty-six were paraplegic and 110, tetraplegic. Responders and non-responders were comparable. RESULTS: Most common aids or adaptations reported were commode/shower chair on wheels or a seat (69%), grab bar by the toilet (41%), electrical bed (44%), special mattress (28%), lift/hoist (20%), computers (39%) and kitchen tools or cutlery with special handles (14%). In all, 7.6% of the participants reported no aids. Eighty-two percent answered 'Yes' to the question 'Have the aids, you currently or previously needed, been available to you?' The majority reported that their source of information about aid had been various journals and magazines. Twenty-one percent had personal helpers, with 60 h per week in median (range 2-168). Thirty-three percent received domestic help with 2.5 h per week in median (range 0.5-37). Eight percent had a home nurse. A total of 98.7% were living in their own homes. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first study of a representative SCI population giving information on home aids. Individuals with SCI in Denmark seem to be sufficiently supplied with aids and personal assistance.
U2 - 10.1038/sc.2008.132
DO - 10.1038/sc.2008.132
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 19002151
SN - 1362-4393
VL - 47
SP - 405
EP - 412
JO - Spinal Cord
JF - Spinal Cord
IS - 5
ER -
