Community reintegration following spinal cord injury: Insights for health professionals in community rehabilitation services in New Zealand

Abstract

When returning home following a spinal cord injury (SCI), individuals will be in contact with a range of health professionals who will be involved in their ongoing rehabilitation. This study explored the qualitative literature to determine what individuals with SCI perceive to be the barriers or facilitators to community reintegration to provide insights for health professionals working in community rehabilitation services in New Zealand. The databases of Ovid Medline, CINAHL, the Allied and Complementary Medicine Database (AMED), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and PEDro were searched for relevant articles. Barriers and facilitators to community reintegration were classified into the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework with the addition of self-management factors to further define personal factors. Of the 381 studies uncovered in the search, seven met the inclusion criteria. Findings revealed that accessibility of the environment, re-establishing self, support and connections were strong themes for reintegration. The challenge for health professionals working in the community with individuals with SCI is to be client-centred and ensure the individual’s needs are suitably met to support them to re-connect with their work and community life.