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ORIGINAL RESEARCH| Volume 103, ISSUE 7, P1285-1293, July 2022

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Comparison of Life Satisfaction in Persons With Spinal Cord Injury Living in 22 Countries With Different Economic Status

Published:December 16, 2021DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apmr.2021.11.008

      Abstract

      Objective

      To analyze and compare life satisfaction (LS) in persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) living in 22 countries participating in the International Spinal Cord Injury (InSCI) community survey. The study tested the hypothesis that there are differences in LS across InSCI countries according to the countries’ economic status specified as gross domestic product per capita purchased power parity (GDP-PPP).

      Design

      Cross-sectional survey.

      Setting

      Community setting (22 countries representing all 6 World Health Organization regions).

      Participants

      Persons (N=12,108) with traumatic or nontraumatic SCI aged at least 18 years, living in the community and able to respond to one of the available language versions of the questionnaire.

      Interventions

      Not applicable.

      Main Outcome Measures

      LS measured by 5 items selected from the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-BREF: satisfaction with overall quality of life, health, daily activities, relationships, and living conditions. LS index was calculated as the mean of these 5 items.

      Results

      The highest level of LS was reported by persons with SCI living in the United States, Malaysia, and Switzerland (mean range, 3.76-3.80), and the lowest was reported by persons with SCI living in South Korea, Japan, and Morocco (mean range, 2.81-3.16). There was a significant cubic association between LS index and GDP-PPP. Regression tree analysis revealed the main variables differentiating LS index were GDP-PPP and monthly income, followed by time since injury and education.

      Conclusions

      Life satisfaction reported by persons with SCI related mainly to their country economic situation expressed by GDP-PPP and monthly income. The results of this study underscore the need for policy dialogues to avoid inequalities and improve the life experience in persons with SCI.

      Keywords

      List of abbreviations:

      CART (classification and regression tree), GDP-PPP (gross domestic product per capita purchased power parity), InSCI (International Spinal Cord Injury), LS (life satisfaction), QoL (quality of life), SCI (spinal cord injury), WHO (World Health Organization), WHOQOL-5 (World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment-5)
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