Article

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the patterns, predictors, and benefits associated with
driving a modified vehicle for people with spinal cord injuries (SCIs). DESIGN:
Cross-sectional retrospective survey design. SETTINGS: Sixteen Model SCI Systems
(MSCISs) throughout the United States. PARTICIPANTS: People (N=3726) post-SCI
from the National MSCIS Database. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME
MEASURES: Driving, employment, and community reintegration post-SCI. RESULTS: The
study found that 36.5% of the sample drove a modified vehicle after SCI.
Significant predictors of driving a modified vehicle post-SCI included married at
injury, younger age at injury, associate's degree or higher before injury,
paraplegia, a longer time since the injury, non-Hispanic race, white race, male
sex, and using a wheelchair for more than 40 hours a week after the injury
(accounting for 37% of the variance). Higher activity of daily living
independence (in total motor function) at hospital discharge also increased the
odds of driving. Driving increased the odds of being employed at follow-up by
almost 2 times compared with not driving postinjury (odds ratio, 1.85). Drivers
tended to have higher community reintegration scores, especially for community
mobility and total community reintegration. Driving was also associated with
small health-related quality-of-life gains, including less depression and pain
interference and better life satisfaction, general health status, and
transportation availability scores. CONCLUSIONS: The associated benefits of
driving and the relatively low percentage of drivers post-SCI in the sample
provide evidence for the need to increase rehabilitation and assistive technology
services and resources in the United States devoted to facilitating driving after
SCI.
CI - Copyright (c) 2011 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine. Published by
Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS