The impact of a sports initiation program on quality of life, satisfaction, and self-efficacy in activities of daily living in individuals with spinal cord injury

Introduction:The aim of the study was to assess the impact of a structured sports initiation program for individuals with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) on quality of life, satisfaction, and self-efficacy in activities of daily living, based on a quasi-experimental pre-post test format. Materials and methods:The program was developed in collaboration with a multidisciplinary team.The participants were allowed to try six different Paralympic sports (Para archery, Para athletics, Boccia, wheelchair tennis, Para swimming, and wheelchair fencing) over a 14-week period.The following outcome measures were tested at T0 (baseline) and T1 (14 weeks after): the Trunk Control Test (TCT), Spinal Cord Independence Measure III Self Report (SCIM), Short Form Health Survey 36 (SF-36), Moorong Self Efficacy Scale and the Wheelchair Use Confidence Scale for Manual users (WheelCon-M).The data was analysed using Wilcoxon's rank test.Results: Of the included participants, 66.8% demonstrated lesion D3 and D9, while 46.7% had complete SCI.Significant improvements were observed for measures of functional independence, quality of life, self-efficacy and wheelchair use confidence, but not trunk control.Conclusions: The functional sports initiation program achieved encouraging results for people with SCI; it promoted not only functional improvements, particularly in the management of assistive devices, but also improvements in perceived independence, health-related quality of life, self-efficacy in daily activities, and wheelchair use confidence.The program enables participants to engage in challenging and motivating activities that simultaneously foster participation, social integration, well-being and enjoyment.