Psychological conditions of spinal cord injury patients.

ABSTRACT

The study of psychological distress anxiety and depression, in 44 spinal cord injured patients was performed by using the Thai Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) at admission and before discharge. The average score of anxiety and depression decreased while the barthel index score increased significantly. The prevalence of anxiety and depression were 18.2 and 13.6 percent respectively and there was tendency to decline which implied that psychological conditions of SCI patients can be changed over time. The functional ability is not the only variable affecting psychological conditions. The process of adjustment is complex and individual.