Access and engagement with places in the community, and the quality of life among people with spinal cord damage.

OBJECTIVES

This study aims to investigate the association between self-reported accessibility and engagement with health services and places in the community, and quality of life (QOL) for people with spinal cord damage (SCD).

DESIGN

Cross-sectional survey.

SETTING

Community.

PARTICIPANTS

Two-hundred and sixty-six people with a SCD residing in Australia ( = 62.34,  = 15.95).

OUTCOME MEASURE

The International Spinal Cord Injury Quality of Life Basic Data Set.

RESULTS

Univariate regressions demonstrated that accessing a higher number of places in the community was significantly associated with favorable self-reported psychological health ( = .160, P < .01), physical health ( = .144, P < .01), overall well-being ( = .206, P < .01), and QOL ( = .187, P < .01). In contrast, reporting a higher number of inaccessible places was significantly associated with unfavorable self-reported psychological health ( = -.171, P < .01), physical health ( = -.270, P < .001), overall well-being ( = -.238, P < .001), and QOL ( = -.244, P < .001). Being older and living with injury or onset of damage longer were significantly associated with favorable scores across all outcomes (P < .01) except physical health.

CONCLUSIONS

Community engagement can have a considerable impact on the self-reported health and QOL of people with SCD. Interventions aimed at increasing community engagement, particularly for people who have recently experienced SCD are warranted.