Spinal Cord Injury; Quality of Life; Occupational Therapy: Is There a Connection?

Although occupational therapists frequently state that one of their primary goals is that of enhancing quality of life, this does not appear to be supported by either their outcome measures or their literature. Studies have shown that satisfaction with quality of life following a spinal cord injury is not predicted by either degree of impairment or disability. Handicap is negatively correlated with quality of life and this may require interventions that are focused towards the environment rather than the individual. Occupational therapists may need to adopt a more client-centred approach to practice, in which assessment, Intervention and outcome measures are sensitive to the subjective views of the individual, thus enabling therapists to understand more of what quality of life means to each client.