Community reintegration in rehabilitated South Indian persons with spinal cord injury.

OBJECTIVES

To explore community reintegration in rehabilitated South Indian persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) and to compare the level of community reintegration based on demographic variables.

DESIGN

Survey.

SETTING

Rehabilitation center of a tertiary care university teaching hospital.

PARTICIPANTS

Community-dwelling persons with SCI (N=104).

INTERVENTIONS

Not applicable.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Craig Handicap Assessment and Reporting Technique (CHART).

RESULTS

The mean scores for each CHART domain were physical independence 98+/-5, social Integration 96+/-11, cognitive independence 92+/-17, occupation 70+/-34, mobility 65+/-18, and economic self sufficiency 53+/-40. Demographic variables showed no statistically significant difference with any of the CHART domains except for age and mobility, level of education, and social integration.

CONCLUSIONS

Persons with SCI in rural South India who have completed comprehensive, mostly self-financed, rehabilitation with an emphasis on achieving functional ambulation, family support, and self-employment and who attend a regular annual follow-up show a high level of community reintegration in physical independence, social integration, and cognitive independence. CHART scores in the domains of occupation, mobility, and economic self-sufficiency showed lower levels of community reintegration.