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John Stanley Coulter Memorial Lecture addresses the requirements for developing a framework for interdisciplinary rehabilitation research. The needs for funding, clinical trials, staffing, education, and infrastructure in medical rehabilitation research are examined from the author's perspective as a researcher, chief executive officer, department chair, and dean. ...

Article presenting results of a national survey of physiatrists concerning their career satisfaction and current practice patterns. Data are from 208 responses to a questionnaire mailed to 400 members of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Areas of satisfaction and dissatisfaction were identified, along with overall levels ...

Using the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center (NSCISC) database, analyzes the direct costs of spinal cord injury. Includes the costs of: hospitalization and medical care; attendant and in-home care; physician and outpatient services; equipment purchase, rental, and repair; supplies; medications; environmental modifications at work, home, and for vehicles; nursing ...

Case control study identifies and quantifies factors associated with discharge to a nursing home from a cohort of 16,633 consecutively discharged patients with spinal cord injuries between 1973 and 1996. Overall, 4.3% of patients were discharged to a nursing home. Factors that were significantly associated (p<.0001 with="" placement="" were="" age="" ...

Article describes methods for estimating life expectancy, an essential component for developing the life care plan of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Estimates based on age at injury, neurologic level of lesion, completeness of injury, ventilator dependency, and the amount of time since injury are published annually by the ...

Study of 9,135 spinal cord injured persons identifies risk factors and causes for mortality over an eleven year period. Primary cause of death for the 9.3% of the studied group that died was related to diseases of the respiratory system. The causes of death are correlated to age groups, extent ...

Study comparing the divorce rate among persons who got married after spinal cord injury (SCI) with that of the non-SCI population of comparable age and gender and exploring the factors associated with increased likelihood of divorce. Subjects were 622 persons enrolled in the National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center data ...

Study identifying and quantifying trends in mortality and causes of death among persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). Data were collected for a cohort of 28,239 consecutive persons admitted to a model SCI system or a Shriner's Hospital within 1 year of injury. Findings suggest that mortality rates after the ...

Presents statistics surrounding incidence of spinal cord injuries (SCI) caused by accidents in swimming pools, including demographics of injured people as well as circumstances surrounding accidents. Discusses implications for SCI prevention programs and the need for further research into the mechanism of injuries (i.e. whether injuries occur on impact with ...

Study examines the health status of persons as they age who had spinal cord injuries many years ago. Health status data collected yearly on persons (N= 11,117) who had a traumatic spinal cord injuries between 1973 and 1989 is analyzed. The most significant predictor of health status is current age, ...

Study describes the unique aspects of the epidemiology of childhood-onset spinal cord injury among children and adolescents. The characteristics of subjects with SCI included in either the Shriners Hospitals for Children database or the National SCI Statistical Center database from 1973 through 2002 were evaluated based on age at the ...

National survey data was analyzed to examine the relationships between level of disability and receipt of certain preventive health services, including colorectal, cervical, and breast cancer screenings, and influenza and pneumococcal vaccination. Results indicated that people with mild and moderate disability received flu and pneumonia vaccinations somewhat more frequently ...

Addresses quality of life (QOL) issues for people with disabilities as determined by a study analyzing longitudinal data in the National Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) Model Systems Data Base. Factors in assessing QOL and well-being are discussed. For objective QOL, summaries of data about residence, employment, education, and marital ...

Examines studies of quality of life (QOL) to determine the the relationship between QOL and various factors for people with spinal cord injuries (SCI). Studied factors include: degree of impairment; disability status; and occupational, family, mobility, social integration and social support status. Discusses findings in relation to previous studies ...

Article on the definition and measurement of community integration, with a focus on potential applications in research on persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). Different ways of conceptualizing and operationalizing community integration are discussed, along with related concepts such as handicap, instrumental activities of daily living (IADL's), independent living, ...

Study investigates whether computer adaptive testing (CAT) can be used to decrease the number of Functional Independence Measure (FIM) instrument motor component items administered in assessing people with spinal cord injury (SCI). Six FIM items were selected for each subject for the CAT simulation. Separate estimates of motor ability ...

Literature review examines how quality of life (QOL) is defined and measured for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Three different conceptualizations of QOL are reviewed: (1) QOL as subjective well-being, (2) QOL as achievement, and (3) QOL as utility. Most of the commonly used QOL instruments can be ...

Study to determine if the motor ability of persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) can be reliably estimated using a subset of the 13 Functional Independence Measure (FIM) items. FIM item subsets of 5, 6, or 7 items were generated using each of 5 strategies, and motor ability estimates ...

Article provides an overview of the benefits of an integrated control system in which a single interface is used to operate 2 or more assistive devices. Research is reviewed regarding the Multiple Master Multiple Slave (M3S) protocol, integrated communication and environmental control, integrated computer access, and integrated wheelchair guidance ...

Article presents the clinical histories of 2 people with pain following spinal cord injury who were treated with the antiepileptic drug, topiramate. Topiramate was well tolerated and effective in reducing pain in both patients.