SPINALCORD: Research Update: Grant Awarded for New Research and Training on Secondary Conditions of Spinal Cord Injury

This article is from the Pushin' On Newsletter, Vol 17[1],Winter, 1999.

During the past 33 years, the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Alabama at Birmingham has conducted research on the evaluation and treatment of secondary medical conditions for persons with spinal cord injury (SCI). The department recently received a new grant awarded to fund a Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Secondary Conditions of SCI from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR). This allows us to continue our research in areas of prevention and treatment of secondary conditions of SCI and provide training and informational materials related to these areas.

The new research is targeted toward improving the general health, well-being and community integration of persons with SCI. Research results will:

produce new knowledge,
improve service delivery and
promote both social and economic independence for individuals with SCI.

To involve individuals with SCI in the research process, consumer advisors are a part of the research teams. The consumers involved with each project have personal experience with the research topic.

These individuals with SCI will meet with the research team throughout the project to provide ideas and opinions. Researchers will involve them in areas such as the design of research procedures, pilot testing possible methods for use, and helping to decide if instruments used are valid. The consumer can provide input on issues such as, would individuals participate in a project or would it be more of a burden because of the time involved?

Nationally recognized researchers are serving as external advisors to this grant. The research team will consult with them throughout the grant. Major research projects will run over the next 5 years. The areas of research and projects for the new grant are:
Urologic

Evaluate interventions to prevent and treat urinary tract infections (UTI) in persons with SCI.
Determine the effect of cranberry pills to prevent and treat UTIs.
Determine the relationship between beverage consumption and water hardness, and the development of urinary tract stones in persons with SCI.

Pain

Study the effectiveness of gabapentin and methadone in relieving certain types of SCI pain.
Complete a study of accepted SCI pain classification systems.
Develop a method to target those at risk for SCI pain.

Psycho-social

Evaluate the use of telemedicine to reduce depression and secondary conditions among persons with SCI and their caregivers through problem solving interventions.

Pulmonary

Determine the duration of immuneresponse to pneumococcal vaccine and the need for revaccination to maintain protection against pneumonia in persons with SCI.

Respiratory

Evaluate a screening tool to identify persons with SCI at high risk for sleep apnea and treatments to improve their health and quality of life.

Nutrition

Evaluate and adapt a nationally recognized weight-loss program for a population of individuals with SCI.

Assessing Secondary Conditions

Collaborate with University of Kansas, Institute for Life Span Studies and Craig Rehabilitation Hospital to evaluate the effectiveness of computer based risk assessment /feedback tools in reducing medical complications.

This Research Update column will present the progress and findings from these research projects over the next 5 years. We will review the Training and Dissemination Projects of this new RRTC in the next issue of Pushin' On.

Pushin' On is supported by grants #H133B980016 and #H133N50009 from the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. Opinions expressed in Pushin' On are not necessarily those of the granting agency.