| Objective: To study the influencing factors of quality of life in elderly patients with spinal cord injury (SCI), and to explore the intervention measures to improve the quality of life of SCI patients in elderly. Methods: A total of 100 patients over 60 years old with SCI were selected. According to domestic and foreign literature and the cultural background of China, 15 factors probably affecting the quality of life of elderly patients with SCI were identified and analyzed by stepwise multiple reproducibility regression analysis. A self-designed questionnaire was used for investigation. The WHO quality of life measurement scale (WHOQOL-BRIEF) was used to assess the quality of their life. Results: Based on the analysis, 8 variables were found which affected the total quality of life of elderly patients with SCI: age, self-care ability, injured nerve plane, injured quality, complications and chronic diseases, social support, burden way of medical expenses and living style. The multiple correlation coefficient was 0.779. Among them, age, complications and chronic diseases were negatively correlated with quality of life, while injured nerve plane, self-care ability, social support and quality of life were positively correlated with quality of life (P<0.01). One’s quality of life with lower nerve surface injured was better then that with upper nerve surface injured (P<0.01). And the quality of life of patients with incomplete injured SCI was better than that of complete injured (P<0.01). The quality of life of the elderly SCI patients with guaranteed medical expenses was better(P<0.05), and that of the elderly patients with SCI living in centralized abode was slightly higher than that of ones living in scattered places (P<0.05). Conclusion: Age, ability to take care of oneself, complications and chronic diseases, social support, burden way of medical expenses and living style all have influence on the quality of life of elderly patients with SCI. |
