Appraisals of life transition events and associations with quality of life at 3- and 12-months post-discharge following spinal cord injury

Purpose This study examined the occurrence of life transition events during the first 12-months post-discharge after spinal cord injury (SCI) and determined whether appraisals of the impact and coping related to these events were associated with quality of life (QoL).Methods Recruited at discharge, adults with SCI completed telephone-based or online surveys at 3-months (n = 47) and 12-months (n = 39) post-discharge. Participants completed the Sentinel Events Questionnaire regarding the occurrence (Yes/No) of life transitions, including core events (i.e., return-to-work, return to driving, home independence, independence in the community) and other stressors, and rated the positive impact, negative impact, and coping for core events. QoL was measured using the EUROHIS-QoL-8.Results At 3-months post-discharge, the occurrence of each core event was associated with more positive appraisals of impact (p < 0.01). At 12-months, return-to-work and driving were more positively appraised than resuming home or community independence (p < 0.05). Across events, coping appraisals were consistently and positively associated with QoL, after controlling for event occurrence (sr2 = 8–22%, p < 0.05).Conclusion The finding that more positive appraisals of impact and coping regarding core events are associated with better QoL highlights the importance of understanding the subjective meaning of life transition events to inform person-centred interventions.