SLIDESHOW: 2016 SCI Consumer Conference
PHOTO: SCI Holiday card
Improving Lives through Research
The NNJSCIS has established itself as one of the leading contributors to the National SCIMS Statistical Center database, the world’s largest longitudinal database for SCI research. Each year, we enroll more than 60 newly injured patients with traumatic SCI in this database, for a total of 1,205 individuals since 1990. We have also conducted over 3,200 follow-up interviews. In addition to collecting information on age, minority status, employment, cause of injury, and injury severity, this resource helps us answer questions about common medical complications and life after SCI. For example, by linking this database with geographical data for people with SCI, our scientists are learning how different types of neighborhoods influence long-term health and disability. That knowledge helps to direct resources where they are most needed.
In collaboration with our SCIMS partners, we studied ways to improve how wheelchair users can minimize injuries and participate safely in their communities. We found benefits in providing training in the skills needed to properly handle a manual wheelchair in the community, such as managing steps and curbs. Because wheelchair breakdowns were found to be a common problem, we developed a course on wheelchair maintenance that helps people stay active at home, in their communities, and in the workplace. The impact on quality of life is growing as other facilities offer these programs for persons with SCI.
Trevor-Hudson, MD
Director of Spinal Cord Injury Research
Top Kessler Foundation Videos
Our patient education videos on Bowel Management and Pressure Ulcer Prevention placed in the top five most viewed on the Foundation’s YouTube channels in 2016. Other centers in the U.S. are using these resources to educate their patients on these important topics– a clear indication that these resources are addressing priorities in self-care in the wider community of people with SCI.
VIDEO: Bowel Management (Managing Medical Complications After Spinal Cord Injury – Part 1 of 3)
VIDEO: Pressure Ulcer Prevention – (Managing Medical Complications After Spinal Cord Injury – Part 2 of 3)
For more than 25 years, Kessler Foundation has conducted clinical research in spinal cord injury (SCI). Under the leadership of director Trevor Dyson-Hudson, MD, scientists in Spinal Cord Injury Research pursue ways to improve outcomes for individuals living with SCI, with funding from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR), the National Institutes of Health, the Craig H. Neilsen Foundation, the New Jersey Commission on SCI Research, the Department of Defense, and Kessler Foundation.
Since 1990, we have participated in the federal Spinal Cord Injury Model System (SCIMS), a national network of care and research that begins with acute care and extends through rehabilitation, returning to the community and the workplace, and aging with SCI. In 2016, we were one of only 14 SCIMS centers in the U.S. to be funded by NIDILRR for the 2017–2021 SCIMS grant cycle. Dr. Dyson-Hudson and Steven Kirshblum, MD, are co-directors of the Northern New Jersey SCI System (NNJSCIS), a collaborative project with Kessler Institute for Rehabilitation and University Hospital in Newark. Through NNJSCIS, we conduct research that addresses the needs of the SCI community, translate findings into clinical care, and provide resources for individuals with SCI and their caregivers. Just a few activities are highlighted here.
SCI Podcasts
Trevor A. Dyson-Hudson, MD, Director of Spinal Cord Injury Research and Outcomes & Assessment Research and Co-Director of the Northern New Jersey Spinal Cord Injury System (NNJSCIS) at Kessler Foundation presents at the 4th Annual Neuro Trauma Conference at the Kessler Conference Center, West Orange, New Jersey, December 1, 2016. His presentation "Pain after Spinal Cord Injury" covered the estimated prevalence and impact of pain after spinal cord injury (SCI), the main subtypes of SCI pain, prevention and treatment options, and the brain’s role in pain.
Meet Jeanne Zanca, PhD, Senior Research Scientist in spinal cord injury research at Kessler Foundation. Dr. Zanca talks about Personal Care Assistants.
Interview with Drs. R. Lee Kirby and Trevor Dyson-Hudson on Wheelchair Skills Assessment & Training Program.
Dr. R. Lee Kirby is from Dalhousie University and the Capital District Health Authority Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada and Trevor A. Dyson-Hudson, M.D. is Director of Spinal Cord Injury Research and Outcomes & Assessment Research at Kessler Foundation.
For more information about the Wheelchair Skills Assessment & Training Program, go to www.wheelchairskillsprogram.ca
Educating Individuals and Families
In addition to conducting research, we teach people with SCI and their families about what is possible after injury, and advocate for their needs with insurers and policy-makers. Through the Connections newsletter, conferences, and instructional videos, we explore practical issues such as accessing healthcare, regaining mobility, maintaining relationships, and finding employment.
Everyone who sustains a spinal cord injury has the same question – how much can I expect to recover? By correlating physical findings after injury with return of function, we are now better able to provide the newly injured persons with the information they need to plan for the future. Using a modified questionnaire, we looked at how people use assistive technologies after SCI, and identified services and technology that may further improve quality of life.
More than 100 people with SCI attended our “On the Move” conference held at the Kessler Conference Center. Via our new Sound Cloud channel, many more listened to the podcast series of presentations by experts in wheelchair technology and travel for people with special needs.
