Computer assistive technology and associations with quality of life for individuals with spinal cord injury: a systematic review.

STUDY DESIGN

Systematic review.

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of the study was to identify and organize evidence regarding quality of life influenced by assistive technology related to computers for people with traumatic and non-traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI).

SETTING

Distrito Federal, Brazil.

METHODS

A search strategy was conducted on the PubMed, PEDro, LILACS, PsycINFO, and SCIELO. All types of study designs considering assistive technology to improve quality of life for individuals with SCI were included. After search strategy procedures, ten references were included to review. The methodologic quality of each study was evaluated using the Level of Evidence proposed by the Oxford Centre for Evidence-based Medicine.

RESULTS

Most of the studies showed that devices for computer access improve the quality of life of people with SCI, regardless of the level of injury and type of resource. However, the positive outcomes in the quality of life should be interpreted with caution, as several methodological limitations were observed in the articles.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the scarcity of studies and their methodological limitations, there is evidence that assistive technology for computer access favors the quality of life of people with tetraplegia due to SCI, since it improves participation, independence, and self-esteem.