Division of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, Department of Human Biology, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa.
Amsterdam Collaboration on Health and Safety in Sports, Department of Public and Occupational Health and Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Amsterdam UMC, Vrije University, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Physiother Theory Pract. 2022 Nov;38(11):1639-1655. doi: 10.1080/09593985.2021.1872753. Epub 2021 Jan 24.
Rugby carries a risk for serious injuries, including acute spinal cord injuries. The lifetime health consequences of these injuries may be far-reaching.
In this study, we aimed to describe barriers and facilitators to healthcare and rehabilitation, in individuals with rugby-related spinal cord injuries in South Africa.
This study adopted a pragmatic qualitative approach. Stratified purposive sampling was used to select interviews from players from a variety of socio-economic status and geographical areas for inclusion in this study. The final sample consisted of thirty-one (n = 31) participants. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data.
Participants described long-term, accessible, affordable, quality healthcare and rehabilitation as important contributors to their quality of life. Even though public healthcare is accessible from a cost point of view, quality of care, availability of rehabilitation services and factors such as affordability and availability of adequate transport remain a barrier for lower socio-economic groups.
This population was unique, as the support from a dedicated organization enabled participants to overcome some barriers, highlighting the challenges of the healthcare system in maintaining the health of people with spinal cord injuries. Every effort should be made to create equitable access to healthcare and rehabilitation for persons with spinal cord injuries in South Africa.
橄榄球运动存在发生严重伤害的风险，包括急性脊髓损伤。这些损伤的终身健康后果可能是深远的。
在这项研究中，我们旨在描述南非与橄榄球相关的脊髓损伤患者在获得医疗保健和康复方面的障碍和促进因素。
本研究采用实用的定性方法。采用分层目的抽样法，从来自各种社会经济地位和地理区域的球员中选择访谈，纳入本研究。最终样本由 31 名参与者组成（n=31）。使用主题分析来分析数据。
参与者描述了长期、可及、负担得起、高质量的医疗保健和康复，是他们生活质量的重要贡献者。尽管从成本角度来看，公共医疗保健是可及的，但护理质量、康复服务的可用性以及经济条件较低的群体面临的负担能力和充足交通的可用性等因素仍然是障碍。
该人群是独特的，因为专门组织的支持使参与者能够克服一些障碍，突显了南非医疗保健系统在维持脊髓损伤患者健康方面所面临的挑战。应尽一切努力为南非的脊髓损伤患者创造公平获得医疗保健和康复的机会。
