Citation

Robinson-Whelen S, Taylor HB, Hughes RB, Wenzel L, Nosek MA. Top. Spinal Cord Inj. Rehabil. 2014; 20(1): 23-31.

Affiliation

Center for Research on Women with Disabilities, Baylor College of Medicine , Houston, Texas ; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Baylor College of Medicine , Houston, Texas.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2014, Thomas Land Publishers)

DOI

10.1310/sci2001-23

PMID

24574819

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Research has documented high rates of depression in people with spinal cord injury (SCI); however, most SCI research is conducted with predominantly male study participants. Additional research is needed on depression and depression treatment among women with SCI. OBJECTIVE: Study objectives were to examine depression, correlates of depression, and depression treatment in a sample of women with SCI. METHODS: The sample included 51 ethnically and racially diverse women with SCI who participated in a larger study on secondary conditions of women with diverse physical disabilities. Recruited through health clinics and community organizations in a large metropolitan area, participants completed structured interviews that included demographic and disability characteristics and measures of health and health care utilization. RESULTS: Scores on the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) indicated that 41% of the women had depressive symptomatology in the mild to severe range. BDI-II scores were significantly related to more severe secondary conditions, greater pain, and poorer health perceptions but not to demographic or disability variables. Nearly a third (n = 16) of the women had scores exceeding the standard cutoff for significant clinical depressive symptomatology, yet only 5 of those had received any treatment for depression in the past 3 months and only 1 had received counseling or psychotherapy. Lifelong depression treatment showed a similar pattern of predominantly pharmacologic treatment. CONCLUSION: Depression is a common problem for women with SCI, and many do not receive treatment, particularly psychological treatment. Disability-sensitive and affordable depression treatment must be made available to women with SCI.

Language: en