The Dearth of Disability Medical Education and a Partial Solution.

Issue: While over one-quarter of adult Americans have a disability, there is a paucity of disability-specific curricula in American medical schools and residency programs. Potential consequences of this educational dearth include persistent inaccessibility of health care facilities and delivery of inequitable health care to individuals with disabilities. Evidence: Several working groups have proposed disability-specific competencies for health professions education and means by which to integrate them into existing curricula. A limited number of medical schools and residency programs have formally introduced disability-specific materials into their curricula. To our knowledge, however, there are no generalist (internal medicine or family medicine) residency programs that offer specialized training in the clinical care of people with disabilities. Implications: Offering generalist physicians the opportunity to acquire the clinical and cognitive skills required to provide thorough and equitable health care to people with disabilities is critically important. There are too few physiatrists to see to their care needs. In this manuscript, we present a novel concentration in an Internal Medicine residency program in the care of individuals with a variety of disabilities. Our hope is that this work will initiate discussions among educational leaders about how to address the lack of graduate medical education-level training in disability care. We also hope it will afford program directors the opportunity to implement similar concentrations and tracks and will eventually produce a generation of generalists who are well-equipped to help care for people with disabilities.

Complications of Spinal Cord Injury Over the First Year After Discharge From Inpatient Rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the prevalence and cumulative incidence of secondary complications of spinal cord injury (SCI) in the first year after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation (IR); and to evaluate potential associations between risk of complications and sociodemographic and injury-specific factors. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of data collected for a single-site, single-blind, randomized controlled trial comparing telephone follow-up with usual care. SETTING: Inpatient rehabilitation units. PARTICIPANTS: Adults ages ≥18 years (N=169) within 1 year of discharge from IR after SCI. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-report of 10 secondary complications of SCI. RESULTS: Participants experienced a mean of 4.7 complications over 12 months. The most frequently reported complications were urinary tract infection (UTI), autonomic dysreflexia (AD), and pressure ulcers, with cumulative incidences of 62%, 43%, and 41%, respectively. Bone and soft tissue injuries (cumulative incidence, 35%) and bowel problems, including impaction or severe constipation (cumulative incidence, 33%), were also common. Cumulative incidences of AD, decubitus ulcers, UTI, and problems with bladder were greater in participants with higher level and more complete injuries, and some recurrent complications were common. Age at injury and impairment level significantly affected rates of complications, and subjects developed an average of 2.33 distinct complications during the study period. CONCLUSIONS: People with SCI are at high risk for a number of secondary complications over the first year after discharge from IR. Although these data offer some insight into who with SCI is at highest risk for first time and recurrent complications, further study is needed to refine this understanding and to develop effective educational and prevention strategies.

Health care utilization and barriers experienced by individuals with spinal cord injury.

OBJECTIVES: To identify from whom individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) seek health care, the percentage who receive preventative care screenings, and the frequency and types of barriers they encounter when accessing primary and specialty care services; and to examine how sociodemographic factors affect access to care and receipt of preventative screenings. DESIGN: Cross-sectional, observational study using an Internet-based survey. SETTING: Internet based. PARTICIPANTS: Adults (N=108) with SCI who use a wheelchair as their primary means of mobility in the community. INTERVENTIONS: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Health care utilization during the past year, barriers encountered when accessing health care facilities, and receipt of routine care and preventative screenings. RESULTS: All but 1 participant had visited a primary care provider within the past 12 months, and 85% had had ≥ 1 visit to specialty care providers. Accessibility barriers were encountered during both primary care (91.1%) and specialty care (80.2%) visits; most barriers were clustered in the examination room. The most prevalent barriers were inaccessible examination tables (primary care=76.9%; specialty care=51.4%) and lack of transfer aids (primary care=69.4%; specialty care=60.8%). Most participants had not been weighed during their visit (89%) and had remained seated in their wheelchair during their examinations (85.2%). Over one third of individuals aged ≥ 50 years had not received a screening colonoscopy, 60% of women aged ≥ 50 years had not had a mammogram within the past year, 39.58% of women had not received a Papanicolaou smear within the previous 3 years, and only 45.37% of respondents had ever received bone density testing. CONCLUSIONS: Individuals with SCI face remediable obstacles to care and receive fewer preventative care screenings than their nondisabled counterparts. We recommend that clinics conduct Americans with Disabilities Act self-assessments, ensure that their clinical staff are properly trained in assisting individuals with mobility disabilities, and take a proactive approach in discussing preventative care screenings with their patients who have SCI.

A survey of internal and family medicine residents: Assessment of disability-specific education and knowledge.

BACKGROUND: The literature suggests that primary care physicians are inadequately educated in the care of people with disabilities. No study to date has evaluated whether internal medicine (IM) and family medicine (FM) residents have received disability-specific education or their level of comfort in caring for people with physical disabilities. OBJECTIVES: To assess IM and FM residents' receipt of disability-specific education during medical school and residency; to evaluate their self-reported comfort in managing secondary conditions associated with physical disabilities and in coordinating therapies and services for individuals with disabilities; to gauge their interest in receiving disability-specific education. METHODS: An on-line survey distributed to residents at a convenience sample of ten academic IM and FM residency programs in the northeastern United States. Participants (n = 176) were asked about their socio-demographic and training-specific characteristics and their self-assessed ability to manage secondary conditions associated with physical disabilities and coordinate care and services for individuals with disabilities. Chi Square tests were used to compare participant characteristics and outcomes. RESULTS: Few participants had received disability-specific education during medical school or residency (34.6% and 11.2%, respectively), and nearly all (96.0%) expressed interest in receiving more. Small minorities reported feeling comfortable managing common secondary conditions or in coordinating therapies and services for individuals with disabilities. CONCLUSION: Although one-fifth of adult Americans have a disability, few of our participating IM and FM residents had received disability-specific education or felt comfortable managing the care of people living with disabilities. Our results indicate a need to develop and disseminate disability-specific curricula.

A pulse survey: assessment and management of bone loss in spinal cord injury.

STUDY DESIGN: An online survey OBJECTIVES: To describe current clinical practices regarding osteoporosis assessment and management in people with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and compare them to recommended diagnostic tests and interventions. SETTING: An international collaboration surveying professionals working in SCI Medicine. METHODS: Online cross-sectional survey regarding clinical practice trends in the assessment and treatment of osteoporosis in people with SCI. Assessment of whether discrete professional characteristics influenced practices and if those practices were consistent with recommendations from professional organizations. RESULTS: Eighty-two professionals working in SCI Medicine completed the survey. Respondents were equally likely to test for bone loss during the post-acute phase (between 4- and 18-months post injury) and after low impact fracture (41.46% and 42.68%, respectively) and more likely to test during the chronic phase (51.22%). The majority of respondents (n = 56, 70%) assessed bone density with DXA at the hip, and many (48.78%, n = 40) prescribed simultaneous mobilization, vitamin D and calcium to prevent bone loss in the acute, post-acute and chronic phases. A number of evaluations and interventions were inconsistent with best practice recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: Given that reported practices for detection and treatment of osteoporosis in SCI are inconsistent and not data-driven, there is need for dissemination and adoption of existing clinical practice guidelines.

COVID-19 and spinal cord injury and disease: results of an international survey.

STUDY DESIGN: An online survey. OBJECTIVES: To query the international spinal cord medicine community's engagement with and response to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and to assess pandemic-specific information needs and patient concerns. SETTING: An international collaboration of authors and participants. METHODS: Two near-identical surveys (one English and one Spanish language) were distributed via the internet. Responses from those questions shared between the surveys were pooled then analyzed; four questions' responses (those not shared) were analyzed separately. RESULTS: A total of 783 responses were submitted from six continents. Few participants (5.8%) had tested their outpatients with SCI/D for COVID-19; only 4.4% reported having a patient with SCI/D with the virus. Of respondents who worked at an inpatient facility, 53.3% reported that only individuals with symptoms were being screened and 29.9% said that no screening was occurring. Participants relayed several concerns offered by their patients with SCI/D, including vulnerability to infection (76.9%) and fragility of caretaker supply (42%), and those living in countries with guaranteed health care were more likely to report widespread availability of COVID-19 testing than were those living in countries without universal care, χ2 (3, N = 625) = 46.259, p < 0.001. CONCLUSION: There is substantial variability in the rehabilitation medicine community in COVID-19 screening practices and availability of screening kits. People living with SCI/D are expressing legitimate and real concerns about their vulnerability to COVID-19. More and rapid work is needed to address these concerns and to standardize best-practice protocols throughout the rehabilitation community.

Guideline for the identification and management of cardiometabolic risk after spinal cord injury: a case of unsubstantiated recommendations.

The 2018 Guideline for the Identification and Management of Cardiometabolic Risk after Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) represented the first concerted effort to address a cluster of derangements and diseases that are claiming the lives of individuals living with injuries. Its contributors and authors scoured the literature, weighed the validity, importance, and clinical relevance of what data they found, and collaborated in an effort to meaningfully improve the health and lives of people with SCI. However, we are concerned that several of the guideline's central recommendations-particularly around screening for and detection of glycemic dysregulation and dyslipidemia-have been offered prematurely. In several instances, the authors cite data from studies of people without SCI and, in our opinion, inappropriately apply those findings to support their SCI-specific suggestions. In other instances, they recommend that we employ tests whose usefulness and clinical relevance have yet to be demonstrated among people living with injuries. In short, we fear that the authors have developed clinical guidelines that are inadequately supported by data. This guideline is an extraordinary show of collaboration, and is an important first step toward understanding and treating a number of secondary cardiometabolic effects of SCI. The lack of data underpinning several of its central recommendations-making them, in our opinion, unadoptable-underscores the inadequacy of research in this area and provides a roadmap for future investigative efforts.

Urinary tract infections and bladder management over the first year after discharge from inpatient rehabilitation.

STUDY DESIGN: Secondary analysis of data from a prospective clinical trial of telephone counseling. OBJECTIVES: To describe changes in bladder management and development of bladder-related complications in the first year after discharge from inpatient spinal cord injury (SCI) rehabilitation. To determine whether urinary tract infection (UTI) is associated with bladder management technique or severity of SCI during this time period. SETTING: One SCI Model System center. METHODS: Post hoc analysis of bladder-specific responses to a phone intervention meant to reduce secondary complications of paralysis in adults (n = 169) over the first year after discharge from initial inpatient rehabilitation (IR). RESULTS: Bladder management was associated with injury level during and immediately after inpatient rehabilitation, and with American Spinal Injury Association (ASIA) Impairment Scale (AIS) score over the entire year. During one year of follow-up, 19% of patients changed bladder management techniques. Among participants performing intermittent catheterization (IC), 20% had urinary incontinence weekly or more frequently. The cumulative incidence of UTI was 71% by the end of the study, and between 27 and 46% of subjects reported UTIs during each 3-month period. Subjects with spontaneous voiding reported significantly fewer UTIs than those using IC or indwelling catheterization (IDC), but there was no significant difference in UTIs between IC and IDC. CONCLUSION: During the first year following discharge, approximately one in five patients changed the bladder management technique and urinary incontinence occurred in a substantial proportion of those performing IC. These findings suggest a need for more frequent monitoring of bladder changes and complications over the first year after IR.

Healthcare utilization and associated barriers experienced by wheelchair users: A pilot study.

BACKGROUND: More than twenty-five years after passage of the ADA, little remains known about the experiences of wheelchair users when attempting to access health care and how accessibility may influence health care utilization. OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: To describe health care utilization among wheelchair users and characterize barriers encountered when attempting to obtain access to health care. METHODS: An internet-based survey of wheelchair users was conducted. Measures included demographics, condition, socioeconomic status, health care utilization and receipt of preventive services within the past year, physical barriers encountered at outpatient facilities, and satisfaction with care. RESULTS: Four hundred thirty-two wheelchair users responded to the survey. Nearly all respondents (97.2%) had a primary care appointment within the past year and most reported 3-5 visits to both primary and specialty care providers. Most encountered physical barriers when accessing care (73.8% primary, 68.5% specialty). Participants received most preventive interventions at rates similar to national averages with the exception of Pap tests. Most participants remained clothed for their primary care evaluation (76.1%), and were examined seated in their wheelchair (69.7%). More than half of participants (54.1%) felt they received incomplete care, and 57% believed their physician had no more than a moderate understanding of their disability-specific medical concerns. CONCLUSIONS: Wheelchair users face persistent barriers to care, may receive less than thorough physical evaluations, receive fewer screenings for cervical cancer, and largely believe they receive incomplete care.