Health behavior in persons with spinal cord injury: Development and initial validation of an outcome measure

Abstract

Objective: To describe the development and initial psychometric properties of a new outcome measure for health behaviors that delay or prevent secondary impairments associated with spinal cord injury (SCI). Design: Persons with SCI were surveyed during routine annual physical evaluations. Setting: Veterans Affairs Medical Center Spinal Cord Injury Unit, which specializes in primary care for persons with SCI. Participants: Forty-nine persons with SCI, aged 19-73 years, 1-50 years post-SCI. Main Outcome Measure: The newly developed Spinal Cord Injury Lifestyle Scale (SCILS). Results: Internal consistency is high (α = 0.81). Correlations between clinicians' ratings of participants' health behavior and the new SCILS provide preliminary support for construct validity. Conclusion: The SCILS is a brief, self-report measure of health-related behavior in persons with SCI. It is a promising new outcome measure to evaluate the effectiveness of clinical and educational efforts for health maintenance and prevention of secondary impairments associated with SCI.