Engagement in spinal cord injury rehabilitation
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring the impact of falls concern, anxiety and cognitive appraisals on engagement in spinal cord injury rehabilitation.
IRAS ID
321646
Contact name
Ruxandra Vasile
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford / Research Governance Ethics and Assurance
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 8 months, 1 days
Research summary
Spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/Ds) are characterised by damage to the cells and/or nerves in the spinal cord, which are responsible for communication between the brain and the body (Craig et al., 2022). The way in which people with spinal cord injury (SCI) cognitively appraise their injury has been found to impact their coping and adjustment, whether the effects of injury are considered to be a challenge, or threat, the latter often leading to depression and anxiety (Duff & Kennedy, 2003). However, it is unclear whether these cognitive appraisals also impact the extent to which someone engages with physical rehabilitation in the acute post-injury phase. This study will test whether people who engage in rehabilitation less have more negative cognitive appraisals of their injury. Secondary to this, we also know that aversive experiences during the early stages of SCI rehabilitation can also impact someone’s later engagement in rehabilitation – one such experience could be a fall (Lequerica & Kortte, 2010). Falls are known to lead to increased falls concern and worry, frustration, and embarrassment, and decreased mood, autonomy, and participation in daily activities (Khan et al., 2019). This poses questions around whether falls concern impacts inpatients’ engagement in rehabilitation, and whether there might be a more generalised anxiety problem impacting engagement in rehabilitation for SCI inpatients. Questionnaires measuring engagement in rehabilitation, cognitive appraisals of injury, generalised anxiety, and falls concern will be given to SCI patients and the physiotherapists involved with the patients' clinical care (for the engagement questionnaire). We will then see if there are differences in cognitive appraisals, generalised anxiety, and falls concern between 'high engagers' and 'low engagers'.
REC name
South Central - Hampshire A Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
23/SC/0298
Date of REC Opinion
10 Sep 2023
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion