Effectiveness of Psycho-emotional Support in Acute Spinal Cord Injury. ESPELMA Project

Background: Acute spinal cord injury leaves patients severely impaired and consequently, generates high levels of psychological distress among them and their families. This psychological distress can cause patients and their families to take a less active role in rehabilitation, which leads to lower and slower levels of functional recovery and to less perceived satisfaction with the results. In addition, rehabilitation professionals that deal with this psychological distress could ultimately experience higher stress and more risk of burnout. The aim of ESPELMA project is to train rehabilitation professionals in the clinical management of acute spinal cord injury associated psychological distress, and to measure the impact of this training on the patients' perceived satisfaction with treatment. It is hypothesized that rehabilitation professionals trained in psychological distress management will foster greater psychological well-being during hospitalization among acute spinal cord injury patients and their families, and will secure greater commitment from them to participate in the rehabilitation process. Thus, it is expected to lead to better and faster functional recovery and consequently to higher perceived satisfaction with treatment.

Methods/Design: The study follows a pre-post control group design. Participants are a sample of acute spinal cord injury patients consecutively admitted to a tertiary hospital spinal cord injury unit, their relatives, and the spinal cord injury unit staff. All participants completed a baseline survey before the intervention. Training of rehabilitation professionals comprises biweekly 6-hour sessions followed by 6-months of optional on-demand coaching. Contents of the training are customized according to focus groups. Once the training sessions end, all participants are assessed again.

Discussion: To our knowledge, no studies have yet evaluated the effectiveness of training professionals to manage psychological distress of acute spinal cord injury patients by means of motivational interviewing principles. If this training proves to be effective, several benefits could be achieved: e.g. higher job content and less burnout among professionals, as well as better patient compliance and satisfaction with treatment.

Keywords Acute Spinal Cord Injury; Patient Satisfaction; Psychological Distress; Rehabilitation; Training Professionals; Burnout; Job Content.

Inclusion criteria

for patients are:

• To be 15 years old or older.
• To be admitted to the SCI Unit and suffering from ASCI, regardless of neurological level cervical, thoracic, lumbar or sacral) or ASIA classification (A, B, C or D).

Exclusion criteria

for patients are:

• Etiology of the injury as an acute non-traumatic SCI.
• Age younger than 15 years old and 3) Traumatic Brain Injury hampering comprehension during assessments.

One relative or main caregiver per patient is assessed.

Finally, all SCI Unit staff (rehabilitative doctors, nurses, assistant nurses, physiotherapists, physical activity instructors, the occupational therapist, social workers and hospital attendants)is also assessed.