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Projects

Aging Well with Disability: Successful Aging Among Individuals with SCI

Life expectancy among individuals with SCI has increased such that many people with SCI are surviving into older adulthood. An obstacle to understanding how quality of life (QoL) evolves over time in the context of aging with SCI is that SCI research has largely been cross-sectional or circumscribed to examining ...
Projects

Determinants of Bowel-related Quality of Life in Individuals with Acute and Chronic SCI

Neurogenic bowel dysfunction (NBD) is a common complication of spinal cord injury (SCI). It has a significant impact on quality of life and is a top rehabilitation priority for patients with SCI. However, little is known about bowel-related quality of life in this population and the factors that influence bowel-related ...
Projects

The Status of Oral Health in People with Spinal Cord Injury in the United States

Oral health is integral to our general health and well-being, according to the U.S. Surgeon General's Report on Oral Health published in 20002 and the World Health Organization in 2003.16 The Report highlighted numerous oral health disparities among individuals with disabilities. Evidence in the two decades since show that individuals ...
Projects

Development and Assessment of SCIMS cUTI Consensus Guidelines

This project is a collaborative, 3-phase, mixed-methods study to develop consensus around diagnostic and decision-making criteria for complicated UTI (cUTI) among people with SCI and the clinicians who treat them. In Phase 1 (qualitative) we will engage clinicians SCIMS-wide in focus groups to refine cUTI-related decision-making using our three reliable ...
Projects

Risk of Unintentional Injuries in the First Year After SCI

Spinal cord injury (SCI) represents a type of unintentional injury that often is preceded by high risk behaviors and results in lifelong consequences, yet there has been little study of subsequent unintentional injuries after SCI onset. We have collected data on unintentional injuries among people living in the community ...
Projects

Evaluating the Utility of Spasticity and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in Predicting Neurologic and Motor Functional Recovery after SCI

This module project aims to assess the potential of spasticity and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) as biomarkers of neurologic and functional recovery in patients with subacute spinal cord injury (SCI). Accurate prediction of neurologic and functional recovery of individuals with SCI is important for clinical and research applications. The ...
Infocomics - Burn
Thomas A Novack

Dr. Novack is a Professor in the Department of PM&R and is board certified in Clinical Neuropsychology. He has been a funded investigator since the early 1990’s and served as Principal Investigator for the UAB TBIMS from 1998-2019. Dr. Novack’s clinical work has focused predominantly on TBI, and he has ...
Projects

Is Meeting the Spinal Cord Injury Physical Activity Guidelines Associated with Health-Related and Psychosocial Outcomes?

Increasing physical activity is essential for health and quality of life for people with SCI. Physical inactivity leads to a host of secondary health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, autonomic nervous system dysfunction, depression, pain, fatigue, and poor quality of life. Obesity, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes are ...
Projects

Understanding the Formal and Informal Financial Assistance Used to Cope with the Economic Impact of SCI

SCI imposes an enormous financial burden on the injured person and their family. There are substantial initial and ongoing healthcare costs as well as lifetime costs due to lost income, family caregiving demands, and the expense of critical services, such as home and transportation modifications, attendant care, prescriptions, and ...
Projects

Feasibility, Reliability and Long-Term Prognostic Capability of the International Standards to document Autonomic Function after SCI (ISAFSCI) during Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation

Currently there are no standard of care guidelines regarding the clinical management of autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction in newly injured individuals with SCI, and as such, most clinicians spend a substantial amount of time addressing a multitude of autonomic issues during acute inpatient rehabilitation (AIR). The lack of clinical ...
Projects

Validation of MENTOR tool to describe bowel dysfunction in inpatient rehabilitation setting and facilitate management across the 1st year post-injury

We propose a two-aim study to 1) validate the MENTOR tool in an acute/subacute population with traumatic SCI in the US inpatient rehabilitation setting and 2) use the MENTOR tool from discharge through the first-year post-injury to describe the progression of bowel dysfunction and determine if the tool prompts ...
Projects

EQUITY AND QUALITY IN ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY (EQuATe)

We propose to continue the work of previous cycles exploring assistive technology (AT) and disparities with an expanded focus. Important findings from this collaborative module in the last cycle include high rates of wheelchair repairs, which continue to impact over 50% of wheelchair users with significant financial and personal cost. ...
Projects

Accelerating Racial and Ethnic Equity in SCI Rehabilitation Outcomes

This module project aims to (a) examine racial/ethnic differences in racial/ethnic-, disability-, and gender role-identities among people with SCI, (b) analyze identity-based experiences of marginalization including healthcare experiences, and (c) evaluate the extent that these variables account for racial/ethnic disparities in SCI rehabilitation outcomes. Black and Hispanic individuals with ...
Projects

An SCI Stakeholder-Vetted Education Module to Mitigate Early Cardioendocrine Health Risks Occurring After Spinal Cord Injuries

Past studies have identified excessive cardiometabolic disease (CMD) risk after SCI. In the 2016-2021 SCIMS cycle, four SCIMS centers led by the SFSCIMS: 1) explored early CMD risks and 2) examined whether SCI stakeholders were aware of these risks. Our first manuscript reported a daunting 74% of subjects were obese ...
Projects

Who Benefits? Understanding the Formal and Informal Financial Assistance Used to Cope with the Economic Impact of SCI
Projects

Characterization and Treatment of Chronic Pain after Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

The goal of this TBIMS collaborative study is to examine chronic pain and pain treatment after moderate to severe TBI in order to improve the health and function of these individuals, which through improved patient stratification and treatment guidelines, could lead to improved participation and employment. The specific aims ...
Podcast

TBI and Depression

This is a part of the Hot Topic podcast series from the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center on TBI and Depression. Brandon Blake and Michelle Kauffman share how they worked with TBI Model System researchers to address challenges they faced with depression after experiencing a TBI. Brandon Blake: You know, my ...
SCI Podcast Recordings

Adaptive Sports and Recreation View All Bone Loss After Spinal Cord Injury View All Exercise and Fitness After Spinal Cord Injury View All Managing Bowel Function After Spinal Cord Injury View All Managing Pain After Spinal Cord Injury View All Opioids and Your Health View All Personal Care Attendants View All Safe Transfer Technique View All Understanding Spinal Cord Injury View All ...
Podcast

What Is Depression?

This is a part of the Hot Topic podcast series from the Model Systems Knowledge Translation Center on TBI and Depression. Dr. Jesse Fann discusses What Is Depression? Depression is different for everybody. People experience it in different ways. However, it’s important to think of depression, particularly the most clinically significant ...

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Aging Well with Disability: Successful Aging Among Individuals with SCI

Determinants of Bowel-related Quality of Life in Individuals with Acute and Chronic SCI

The Status of Oral Health in People with Spinal Cord Injury in the United States

Development and Assessment of SCIMS cUTI Consensus Guidelines

Risk of Unintentional Injuries in the First Year After SCI

Evaluating the Utility of Spasticity and Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) in Predicting Neurologic and Motor Functional Recovery after SCI

Infocomics - Burn

Thomas A Novack

Is Meeting the Spinal Cord Injury Physical Activity Guidelines Associated with Health-Related and Psychosocial Outcomes?

Understanding the Formal and Informal Financial Assistance Used to Cope with the Economic Impact of SCI

Feasibility, Reliability and Long-Term Prognostic Capability of the International Standards to document Autonomic Function after SCI (ISAFSCI) during Acute Inpatient Rehabilitation

Validation of MENTOR tool to describe bowel dysfunction in inpatient rehabilitation setting and facilitate management across the 1st year post-injury

EQUITY AND QUALITY IN ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY (EQuATe)

Accelerating Racial and Ethnic Equity in SCI Rehabilitation Outcomes

An SCI Stakeholder-Vetted Education Module to Mitigate Early Cardioendocrine Health Risks Occurring After Spinal Cord Injuries

Who Benefits? Understanding the Formal and Informal Financial Assistance Used to Cope with the Economic Impact of SCI

Characterization and Treatment of Chronic Pain after Moderate to Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

TBI and Depression

SCI Podcast Recordings

What Is Depression?

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