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Pain and Life Satisfaction: The Role of Emotional Support and Social Participation in Adults with Pediatric-Onset Spinal Cord Injury
Title
Pain and Life Satisfaction: The Role of Emotional Support and Social Participation in Adults with Pediatric-Onset Spinal Cord Injury
Creator
Oh, Alison J.
Date
2023
Description
Individuals who acquire a spinal cord injury (SCI) during their pediatric years are unique from individuals who acquire an SCI during...
Show moreIndividuals who acquire a spinal cord injury (SCI) during their pediatric years are unique from individuals who acquire an SCI during adulthood due to the heightened risks for developing secondary health conditions and chronic pain. These concerns may significantly impede developmental milestones and experiences, such as social participation, that may decrease life satisfaction. Thus, research on pain characteristics (e.g., frequency of pain, duration of pain, level of current pain, and level of general pain) alongside the role of emotional support and social participation on life satisfaction in adults with pediatric-onset SCI is needed. This study sample consisted of 205 individuals with pediatric-onset SCI who were former patients at pediatric hospitals in three metropolitan cities. Participants were individuals who were 19 years of age or older at the time of the interview, with the age of injury at 18 years or prior. Associations between demographic, pain, and injury characteristics, emotional support, social participation, and life satisfaction were assessed via bivariate Pearson correlations and a 3-block hierarchical multiple linear regression with LS as the primary outcome. Although pain characteristics and emotional support were not associated with life satisfaction among adults who sustained a pediatric-onset SCI, social participation was positively associated with life satisfaction. These findings suggest that clinicians should evaluate various pain characteristics and highlight the role of social participation when treating individuals with SCI.
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Health Information Seeking, Depression, and Satisfaction with Life in Racial/ethnic Minority vs. White individuals with Spinal Cord Injuries
Title
Health Information Seeking, Depression, and Satisfaction with Life in Racial/ethnic Minority vs. White individuals with Spinal Cord Injuries
Creator
Stipp, Kelsey
Date
2022
Description
Health information is available both traditionally by conversations with health care professionals, and non-traditionally via use of the...
Show moreHealth information is available both traditionally by conversations with health care professionals, and non-traditionally via use of the Internet and other media sources. Health information is crucial to individuals with chronic health conditions and/or disabilities, such as spinal cord injury (SCI), to promote health, minimize comorbidities, and improve quality of life (QOL). Methods of health information seeking have been shown to differ between individuals who are racial/ethnic minority individuals and individuals who are White. Existing research appears to show health information seeking may increase QOL in populations with chronic health conditions and/or disabilities. However, it is unclear how aspects of QOL differ between individuals within the SCI population by race/ethnicity. The present study used Chi Square analyses to test racial/ethnic group differences in health information seeking and multiple analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) to test whether method of health information seeking and aspects of QOL, specifically depression and satisfaction with life, were moderated by race/ethnicity. An adult sample of 9,403 individuals with SCI who completed a survey on their injury, health, and QOL between 2011 and 2016 was used. Participants identified their source of health information as traditional (i.e., conversations with health care professionals) or non-traditional (e.g., newspaper, television, radio, etc.). Results indicated non-traditional sources of health information were utilized more frequently regardless of race/ethnicity. Unexpectedly, moderation results suggested that associations between source of health information and depression and satisfaction with life did not differ by race/ethnicity. However, source of health information was associated with satisfaction with life and depression for the entire sample. Study findings demonstrate the shift towards non-traditional (e.g., newspaper, television, radio, etc.) health information seeking within the SCI population. Further, findings support previous empirical work demonstrating the association between method of health information seeking and depression and satisfaction with life. These findings can be used to improve dissemination of accurate health information to the SCI population via non-traditional sources. Further research should include more diverse samples of individuals to better understand health information seeking as well as depression and satisfaction with life within the SCI population.
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