The experience of falls and fall risk during the subacute phase of spinal cord injury: a mixed methods study

To understand the circumstances, causes and consequences of falls experienced by individuals with subacute SCI, and to explore their perspectives on how falls/fall risk impacted their transition to community living.

Sixty adults with subacute SCI participated. A sequential explanatory mixed methods design was adopted. In Phase I, falls were monitored for six months post-inpatient rehabilitation discharge through a survey. In Phase II, a qualitative focus group (n = 5) was held to discuss participants' perspectives on Phase I results and falls/fall risk. Descriptive statistics and thematic analysis were used to analyze Phase I and II data, respectively.

Falls commonly occurred in the daytime, at home and about half resulted in minor injury. Three themes reflecting participants' perspectives were identified in Phase II. 1) Lack of preparedness to manage fall risk upon returning home from inpatient rehabilitation. 2) Adjusting to increased fall risk following discharge from inpatient rehabilitation. 3) Psychological impact of the transition to living at home with an increased fall risk.

The findings highlight the need for fall prevention initiatives during subacute SCI, when individuals are learning to manage their increased fall risk.