Experiences of Individuals Living with Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI) and Acquired Brain Injuries (ABI) during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Michelle M. Y. Wong (), Merna Seliman, Eldon Loh, Swati Mehta and Dalton L. Wolfe
Additional contact information
Michelle M. Y. Wong: Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
Merna Seliman: Faculty of Health Sciences, Western University, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada
Eldon Loh: Parkwood Institute Research, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON N6C 0A7, Canada
Swati Mehta: Parkwood Institute Research, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON N6C 0A7, Canada
Dalton L. Wolfe: Parkwood Institute Research, Lawson Health Research Institute, London, ON N6C 0A7, Canada

Disabilities, 2022, vol. 2, issue 4, 1-14

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic presents unique challenges for people living with acquired neurological conditions. Due to pandemic-related societal restrictions, changes in accessibility to medical care, equipment, and activities of daily living may affect the mental health of individuals with a SCI or ABI. This study aimed to understand the impact of the pandemic on psychological wellbeing, physical health, quality of life, and delivery of care in persons living with SCI and ABI. A secondary objective included exploring the use of virtual services designed to meet these challenges. In a companion study, participants were surveyed using validated scales of psychosocial health, physical health and healthcare access. In this study, 11 individuals gathered from the survey participated in virtual individual semi-structured interviews to provide accounts of lived experiences regarding critical health challenges and eHealth. Two researchers independently coded interviews for themes using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach. Through analysis of interviews, 5 themes were identified regarding COVID-19 and recovery, access to care, virtual healthcare, systemic barriers, and coping. Overall, limited opportunities due to the pandemic led to a need for adaptation and multifaceted outcomes on one’s wellbeing, which provides guidance for future clinical practice.

Keywords: COVID-19; pandemic; experience; perspective; disability; spinal cord injury; brain injury; telerehabilitation; qualitative; interviews (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7272/2/4/52/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-7272/2/4/52/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jdisab:v:2:y:2022:i:4:p:52-763:d:993629

Access Statistics for this article

Disabilities is currently edited by Ms. Cici Zhou

More articles in Disabilities from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().