The effects of using the Internet on the health-related quality of life in people with spinal cord injury: a controlled study.

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. OBJECTIVES: To compare the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in people with spinal cord injury (SCI) who use the Internet versus those who don't and with a control group of able-bodied individuals. To investigate the frequency of Internet usage before and after injury. To evaluate the differences in terms of demographic features of both groups, analyze the variation in the Internet usage pattern of people with SCI before and after the injury. SETTING: Istanbul, Turkey. METHODS: A total of 60 people with SCI (38 Internet users, 22 nonusers) were included in the study. The control group consisted of 33 healthy persons of similar age and sex. The HRQoL was evaluated with the SF-36 Health Survey. RESULTS: The scores of all the subscales of the SF-36, except vitality, were significantly lower in people with SCI than those of the controls'. The bodily pain subscale and physical component scores were found to be significantly higher in people with SCI using the Internet than the nonuser group with SCI (P<0.05). The Internet usage frequency increased significantly in people with SCI after injury (P<0.05). A significant correlation was found between time since injury and Internet use (r=0.365, P=0.007). CONCLUSION: Although HRQoL scores were lower in people with an SCI, the physical status component score was better in the Internet user SCI group. As there is a significant increase in the time spent online after injury, the Internet could be an effective modality to contact and educate people with an SCI.

Quality of life of primary caregivers of spinal cord injury survivors living in the community: controlled study with short form-36 questionnaire.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the quality of life scores of primary caregivers of spinal cord injury survivors living in the community with healthy age matched-population based controls and to determine the relationship between some severity parameters related with spinal cord injury and the quality of life scores of primary caregivers. SETTING: University hospital, rehabilitation centre. METHODS: Fifty primary caregivers of spinal cord injured patients living in the community and 40 healthy age-matched controls completed SF-36 (short form-36) questionnaire forms. Questionnaires were administered by interviewers who were physiatrists and the authors of the present study. All the patients were rehabilitated by the authors and data about the duration of injury, lesion levels, ASIA scores, degree of spasticity, presence of bladder and bowel incontinence and pressure sores were gathered from the hospital recordings and/or by physical examinations during control visits when the primary caregivers were administered the questionnaires. RESULTS: Quality of life scores measured by SF-36 were significantly low in the primary caregivers group compared to age-matched healthy population based controls. No significant relation was demonstrated between the quality of life scores of primary caregivers and parameters such as the duration of injury, lesion levels, ASIA scores, degree of spasticity, bladder and/or bowel incontinence and pressure sores respectively. CONCLUSION: According to the results of the present study, being a primary caregiver of a spinal cord injured victim significantly interferes with quality of life; some severity parameters related to the injury however do not seem to have an additional impact on the primary caregiver's life quality.