Key Points
Submitted by admin on Thu, 05/20/2010 - 01:04
- In many cases, discharge from hospital is delayed for SCI patients due to lack of accessible housing, which leads to unnecessary increase of cost of care.
- Independent Living Centres (ILCs) that have relationships with hospital Medical Rehabilitation Programs (MRPs) serve more clients than those without, and the most frequently serviced individuals are those with SCI who attend for peer counseling, skills training, and discharge planning.
- Living with a spouse and/or children, living alone, or living with unrelated persons are more desirable arrangements than living with parents and spouse/children together, living with distant family (i.e., grandparents), or living with parents and siblings.
- Marital status, transportation barriers, education level, medical supervision requirements, economic disincentives, services received, and severity of disability are predictors of independent living.
- Choice and control are important when planning living situations and setting goals with clients with SCI because they are directly related to residential and life satisfaction.
- Individuals with SCI have lower perceived life satisfaction, locus of control, and satisfaction with certain aspects of housing than normative samples.
- Accommodation options for a person with a disability are limited. The preferred accommodation is a private house or apartment.
- Living with someone prior to SCI, having insurance or private funding for equipment, and being younger decrease the risk of being discharged to an extended care facility following SCI rehabilitation.
- Individuals with SCI have a need for assistance with fire safety to increase their perception of home safety.
- Individuals with SCI move multiple times after injury. In most cases they start living with their parents and/or in an institution before moving into their own homes.
- Most informal caregivers are female spouses of individuals with SCI who require assistance in fulfilling and maintaining services.
- There is general satisfaction with informal attendant services.
- The most significant predictors of Personal Care Assistance (PCA) use are motor function, days spent in rehabilitation, and length of stay in a nursing home.
- Personal attendant turnover is positively correlated with higher injury level and increased need for assistance in exercise and transfers.
- Goal-directed occupational therapy can achieve gains in role performance and improvements in life satisfaction.
- Re-hospitalization might be reduced after participation in an educational intervention involving a workshop, a collaborative home visit, and access to follow-up.
- Counselling on proper technique and hygiene for at least one session might reduce the risk of urinary tract infections (UTIs) to below-threshold for individuals at risk for UTIs.
- Workshops for attendants and consumers can increase knowledge about SCI.
- Directing, training, and financing one’s personal attendant care may lead to financial savings, better health outcomes, and increased life satisfaction.
