Psychosocial reintegration post-traumatic spinal cord injury in Rwanda: An exploratory study

Traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) survivors face challenges in returning to their communities, including physical and psychosocial barriers, making reintegration an important aspect of their journey back into social life. This study assesses the levels of community reintegration following TSCI in Rwanda to provide a foundation knowledge on what and how psychosocial reintegration is perceived and influenced. Data were collected through a telephone interview with two questionnaires: Demographic and injury characteristic questionnaire and SPRS-2.

• 1
  Overall, the study indicates poor community reintegration among TSCI survivors in Rwanda, with low scores on the Sydney Psychosocial Reintegration Scale version 2 (SPRS-2).
• 2
  Gender significantly influences psychosocial reintegration, with males reporting better reintegration compared to females, particularly in occupational activity and living skills domains.
• 3
  The level of injury (paraplegia vs. tetraplegia) is significantly associated with the occupational activity domain score of SPRS-2, indicating that the extent of physical impairment impacts reintegration.