Article

OBJECTIVE: To explore the attitudes of health care providers who treat patients
with spinal cord injury (SCI) and examine whether Emergency Medicine (EM) and
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (PM&R) physicians differ in their judgments
about quality of life (QOL) after SCI. DESIGN: Questionnaire survey of PM&R and
EM physicians. PARTICIPANTS: Board-certified PM&R and EM physicians listed in the
American Academy of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation and the American College
of Emergency Physicians and/or faculty from academic PM&R and EM departments in
the United States and Canada. MAIN OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: Evaluating various
aspects of perceived QOL if the physician hypothetically sustained an SCI,
including impact on leisure activities, social relationships, happiness,
meaningful work, satisfying sexual relationships, and overall QOL. RESULTS: A
total of 91 EM physicians and 89 PM&R physicians completed the surveys. PM&R
physicians were more likely to agree that they would have a better QOL compared
with EM physicians, regardless of the level of injury or aspect of life (P < .01
in all cases). Female physicians, regardless of specialty, were more likely to
choose a lower level at which they would choose to die, rather than live, if they
sustained an SCI (P = .03). Physicians in both groups were more likely to
disagree that they would have a high QOL at a lower level of injury if they
disagreed at a higher level of injury (P </= .02). CONCLUSIONS: Regardless of
specialty, PM&R and EM physicians have their own personal perceptions of QOL with
SCI. PM&R physicians tend to believe that they would have a higher QOL with an
SCI compared with EM physicians and likely have a more optimistic view of SCI.
Patient care may be improved by interdisciplinary discussion, as evidenced by the
disparity exhibited by practitioners in these 2 specialties who care for the same
patient population.
CI - Copyright (c) 2015 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.
Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Langue : ANGLAIS