Quality of life in people with spinal cord injuries in Tunja-Colombia

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a pathological condition that affects a person's performance in areas such as personal, social, economic, etc. In addition, it causes physical and functional changes that affect independence and functionality, which has an impact on quality of life (QoL). OBJECTIVE: To identify the factors associated with QoL in people with SCI in Boyacá - Colombia. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional design with a sample of 87 subjects selected using the snowball technique, for whom the WHOQOL-BREF test was used to assess QoL. The analysis was performed using descriptive statistics for the sociodemographic variables and, in the bivariate case, Pearson's chi-square test was used. In the multivariate case, negative binomial regression was used with the enter method, considering the theoretical and statistically significant variables. RESULTS: The mean age was 47.7 ± 14.4 years, with a predominance of men (69% - n = 60); QoL was good in 74.7% (n = 65) with a 95% CI (35.58%-83.85%). Protective factors included being male (OR = 0.366, 95% CI [0.167-0.802]), marital status, having company (OR = 0.324, 95% CI [0.131-0.800]), and risk factors: educational level (PR= 5.052, 95% CI [1.095-23.319]), low socioeconomic status (PR= 3.315, 95% CI [1.080-10.177]), and having a high disability (PR= 3.145, 95% CI [1.144-8.649]). CONCLUSIONS: QoL, which is composed of different dimensions, is related to structural social determinants such as gender, socioeconomic status, educational level, and income, in addition to clinical determinants such as etiology and injury level.