Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a life altering condition that has a profound effect on an individual’s motor, sensory and autonomic functions which impacts their ability to participate in society and decreases their quality of life. There are emerging innovations that can help restore neurological function and existing best practices that can be implemented today to improve care, however these are not consistently applied in practice or understood by individuals with SCI and their families. It is estimated to take an average of 17 years for research evidence to be translated into practice. To shorten this timeframe, there is a need to: understand the current epidemiology of SCI in the context of an aging population, quantify the economic impact, determine the effect of the injury on outcomes (e.g. neurology, function, mortality, quality of life), and ensure the knowledge is implemented so individuals living with SCI can benefit.
The scope of Research Topic revolves around the epidemiology, patterns of neurological recovery following injury, SCI clinical measurements, with the aim to improve health outcomes, optimize health care costs, and advance policy changes that better support people living with SCI. Examples of original research articles include updates on the incidence and prevalence of SCI, neurological recovery patterns and the development of assessment and outcome determination tools that drive the translation of evidence into real-world practice for more precise assessment and diagnosis in clinical practice that leads to impact. This content will be of interest to researchers, clinicians, individuals living with SCI and administrators working to translate SCI discoveries and best practices into improved treatments and care.
Spinal cord injury (SCI) is a life altering condition that has a profound effect on an individual’s motor, sensory and autonomic functions which impacts their ability to participate in society and decreases their quality of life. There are emerging innovations that can help restore neurological function and existing best practices that can be implemented today to improve care, however these are not consistently applied in practice or understood by individuals with SCI and their families. It is estimated to take an average of 17 years for research evidence to be translated into practice. To shorten this timeframe, there is a need to: understand the current epidemiology of SCI in the context of an aging population, quantify the economic impact, determine the effect of the injury on outcomes (e.g. neurology, function, mortality, quality of life), and ensure the knowledge is implemented so individuals living with SCI can benefit.
The scope of Research Topic revolves around the epidemiology, patterns of neurological recovery following injury, SCI clinical measurements, with the aim to improve health outcomes, optimize health care costs, and advance policy changes that better support people living with SCI. Examples of original research articles include updates on the incidence and prevalence of SCI, neurological recovery patterns and the development of assessment and outcome determination tools that drive the translation of evidence into real-world practice for more precise assessment and diagnosis in clinical practice that leads to impact. This content will be of interest to researchers, clinicians, individuals living with SCI and administrators working to translate SCI discoveries and best practices into improved treatments and care.