Journal of Rehabilitation Medicine 51-4inkOmslag | Page 42

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structured interviews, which will be formed on the basis of the
research questions. The following topics will be discussed:
• Rehabilitation and its various stages
• Returning home, housing and living arrangements
• Functioning and its importance in various areas of life
• Employment situation and pathways to employment
• Accessibility and related factors
• Quality of life and well-being
Statistical analyses Qualitative data will be transcribed and analysed using a
computer-assisted content analysis programme. Content ana-
lysis is expected to potentially reveal new information about
the functioning and health of people with SCI, as well as infor-
mation on the challenges experienced, which may receive less
attention in the survey. It is assumed that content analysis will
highlight experiences that are highly meaningful to the subjects.
To identify the experiences and their meaning, part of the inter-
view data will be analysed using a phenomenological analysis,
which aims to gain a deeper understanding of the perspectives
related to the everyday life and coping skills of people with SCI.
Statistical analyses will be used to draw inferences on health and
functioning in people with SCI. Quantitative data analysis will
be based on descriptive methods, e.g. on frequencies (categorical
variables) and means (continuous variables). In addition, cross-
tabulation and the χ 2 test will be used to test group differences
and interactions between health and functioning. Functioning
profiles across all functioning limitations will be created. Factor
analysis will be applied to investigate the dimensionality of
certain variables. Graphs will be used to visualize the extent of
functioning limitations in hospital district samples (OYS, Tays
and HUS) and in SCI subgroups. Comparisons will be made
using the SCI grade by AIS (A, B, C and D), level of injury
(tetraplegia/paraplegia), completeness of injury (complete/in-
complete), aetiology (TSCI/NTSCI), time since injury (years),
age and sex (male/female). These meaningful comparisons will
be viewed in relation to health, functioning and accessibility. RESULTS
A formulation of the protocol produced 2 results: the
number of subjects and the number of questions in a
survey in the FinSCI study. At first, patient registers
were investigated and a group of suitable participants
was selected. The systematic data collection resulted
in 2,322 subjects who had visited outpatient clinics
over approximately 6 years. The inclusion criteria were
not filled by 533 subjects. As a result, the number of
suitable subjects in the FinSCI study is 1,789 (Fig. 1).
The flow chart of the protocol and the selection process
of subjects is presented in Fig. 1.
Patients from OYS
Outpatient clinic,
n = 586 Patients from Tays
Outpatient clinic,
n = 626 Patients from HUS
Outpatient clinic,
n = 1,110
Inclusion criteria
not met: 109
Deceased: 35
MMC: 23
Guillan-Barré: 1
Brain injury (no SCI): 4
Other prog decease: 3
LIving in institution: 5
AIS E: 10
AIS not done: 28 Inclusion criteria
not met: 122
Deceased: 61
MMC: 3
Guillan-Barré: 2
Brain injury (no SCI): 2
Other prog decease: 7
LIving in institution: 1
AIS E: 12
AIS not done: 34 Inclusion criteria
not met: 294
Deceased: 60
MMC: 72
Guillan-Barré: 1
Brain injury (no SCI): 17
Other prog decease: 19
LIving in institution: 4
AIS E: 21
AIS not done: 100
Actualized
Address in Finland not found n= 8
Eligible population, n= 1,789
OYS n = 474
Tays n = 504
HUS n = 811
Answers to questionnaire,
n = 895
Does not answer
to questionnaire:
50 %
50
%
Planned
Asked for an interview
from OYS Asked for an interview
from Tays Asked for an interview
from HUS
Interviews
OYS
n = 15 Interviews
Tays
n = 15 Interviews
HUS
n = 15
~3,2
%
~3,0
%
~1,9
%
Fig. 1. Study design. SCI: spinal cord injury; MMC: meningomyelocele; AIS E: ASIA impairment scale; Oulu (OYS), Tampere (Tays) and Helsinki
(HUS) University Hospitals.
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