A primary care provider's guide to clinical needs of women with spinal cord injury

Abstract

Women are a growing proportion of individuals with SCI and have distinctive health needs spanning the life course that demand deliberate consideration and clinical expertise. Practitioners caring for women with SCI must incorporate broad medical knowledge of SCI physiology and health promotion for women, including differences in complication rates following SCI, and work collaboratively with rehabilitation, medical, and surgical specialists to optimize function and health for women with SCI. Clinical researchers must continue to perform population-based studies to best characterize the evolving needs of women with SCI and evaluate treatment efficacy and care delivery models to best serve this population.