Characteristics and psychological issues among the spinal cord injury patients during rehabilitation

Abstract

Purpose: To assess mental health of people with spinal cord injury (SCI) in rehabilitation stage attending at CRP. Objective: The purpose of this study was to assess the degree of depression and learn more about the socio-demographic characteristics of individuals with spinal cord injuries. The goals also included determining whether there was any correlation between socio-demographic data (age, gender, kind of injury, cause of injury, severity of injury, and marital status) and mental health. Methodology: There was a cross-sectional study design. For this investigation, a total of 105 samples were conveniently chosen from the Spinal Cord Injury Unit at Savar Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP). A questionnaire was used to gather data, and the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used to evaluate mental health. Using SPSS software 25.0, a quantitative descriptive analysis method was used to conduct the study. Results: Among 105 respondents, 89.5% % were male,10.5% were female, 45.7% were aged between 16–30 years and 40% were aged between 31-45 years, 66.7% were married & 33.3% unmarried, 15.2% were illiterate & 46.7% were S.S.C passed, 61.9% were paraplegic & 34.1% were tetraplegic, 77.1% had complete-A in American Spinal Injury Association scale, and 41.9% had SCI for Fall from height. Among the participants, 21% minimal depression, 34.3% mild depression, 38.1% moderate depression, 5.7% had moderately severe depression and 1% had severe depression. Statistically significant association was found in between mental health & some socio-demographic information such as Age, gender, types of injury, severity of injury, marital status. Conclusions: Many patients in Bangladesh remain untreated and receive inadequate diagnosis. To the best of our knowledge, very little study has been done expressly on the symptoms of depression and the variables that influence depression in people with spinal cord injuries over time. Social workers and health planners must have a deep awareness of the psychological challenges that individuals with spinal cord injuries encounter, in addition to the variations that arise from environmental, physical, and cultural factors, including the resources that are accessible in each community. To adequately visualize the burden, further large-scale research is needed. Keywords: Patient Health Questionnaire 9(PHQ-9), SCI, Mental health.