Quality of life of patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries: a cross-sectional study at a tertiary hospital in Uganda

Background: The study aimed to assess the perceived quality of life of patients with traumatic spinal cord injuries. Methodology: This was a cross sectional study conducted in the Spine Unit of a tertiary hospital in Uganda. The study popu-lation comprised of patients with spinal cord injuries. Data were collected using the WHO Quality of Life Brief questionnaire and Functional Independence Measure tool. Results: 103 patients participated in the study, most were male (73.8%), and had a mean age of 37.7 years. Most participants were married (57.3%), unemployed (72.8%) and had no steady source of income (62.1%). Road traffic accidents accounted for most injuries (59.2%). The mean duration since injury was 20.5 months. Most participants (58.3%) had incomplete spinal cord injuries and 84.5% had complications. The perceived overall quality of life was poor in 87.4% of patients. Being employed (p= 0.02), the presence of complications (p= 0.03), and injury severity (p= 0.003) significantly affected quality of life. Functional independent measure scores were significantly better in individuals less severe injuries and those with lumbar level of injury with mean scores of 113.1 +/- 8.9 and 99.9 +/- 15.3 respectively. Conclusion: The overall self-reported quality of life among patients with traumatic spinal cord injury was generally poor.