Work, Social Participation and Quality of Life in People with Spinal Cord Injury: Comparison between High and Low Income Countries

Samenvatting:

Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a damage of neural element within the spinal cord that results in impairment of multiple body functions because of loss of motor and sensory functions. Despite its uncommon occurrence, spinal cord injury is a potential public health problem because it causes significant material and psychological burden to the individuals and the society. Although medical rehabilitation advances in the last few decades have improved the survival of people with SCI-related paraplegia, studies consistently showed that the quality of life (QOL) of these people remained lower than general population. Predictors of improved QOL have been extensively studied among SCI patients. However, the contribution of participation in work and social activities is still understudied. Moreover, despite substantial work on QOL in people with SCI in the recent decades, most of the studies were conducted in the developed world. Comparison of QOL and determinants between developed and developing world does not exist.

This project aims to:

1. To describe the extent, predictors and barriers of work and social participation in people with SCI.
2. To describe epidemiological situation, living experiences and domains of QOL in people with SCI in developing countries
3. To compare the QOL, work and social participation in people with SCI between high and low income countries
4. To investigate the possible pathways by which work and social participation influence QOL in high and low income countries. These objectives will be achieved through a qualitative study in Indonesia, secondary data analysis in the Netherlands and Switzerland as well as a pilot study in Indonesia.