Wirth M, Motl RW, Bombardier CH, Bartle B, Wong AWK, Aguina K, LaVela SL. Factors associated with perceived social isolation among veterans with spinal cord injury and disorders: Cross sectional survey.
J Spinal Cord Med 2024:1-10. [PMID:
38315055 DOI:
10.1080/10790268.2023.2299500]
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Abstract
CONTEXT/OBJECTIVE
Examine demographics, injury characteristics, objective measures of social isolation and health factors that are associated with perceived social isolation (PSI) among Veterans with spinal cord injury and disorders (SCI/D).
DESIGN
Cross-sectional survey.
SETTING
The Veterans Health Administrations (VHA) SCI/D system of care.
PARTICIPANTS
Veterans with SCI/D who have used the VHA health care system.
INTERVENTION
Not applicable.
OUTCOMES MEASURES
We assessed unadjusted associations of high PSI (above population mean) vs low (normative/below population mean), and multivariable logistic regression for independent associations with PSI.
RESULTS
Out of 1942 Veterans with SCI/D, 421 completed the survey (22% response rate). Over half (56%) had PSI mean scores higher than the general population. Among the objective measures, having a smaller social network size was associated with increased odds of high PSI (OR 3.59, P < .0001); additionally, for health factors, having depression (OR 3.98, P < 0.0001), anxiety (OR 2.29, P = 0.009), and post-traumatic stress (OR 2.56, P = 0.003) in the previous 6 months, and having 4 or more chronically occurring secondary conditions (OR 1.78, P = 0.045) was associated with increased odds of high PSI. The most commonly identified contributors to feelings of PSI included mobility concerns (63%), having a SCI/D (61%), and concerns about being a burden on others (57%).
CONCLUSIONS
Factors such as social network size may be used to identify individuals with SCI/D at risk for PSI. Additionally, by identifying mental health problems, presence of multiple chronically occurring secondary conditions, and Veteran-identified contributors of PSI, we can target these factors in a patient-centered interventions to identify and reduce PSI.
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