To improve SCI education during rehabilitation, programs should maximize the receptiveness of newly injured patients to SCI-related information, optimize the delivery of SCI education, increase the number of opportunities for learning, promote and support lifelong learning, and include patient and program evaluation. How these strategies are specifically implemented needs to be determined by program management in consultation with various stakeholders, whilst considering the unique characteristics of the rehabilitation facility.

ObjectivesIn the days immediately following the terror attacks of 9/11, thousands of Americans chose to drive rather than to fly. We analyzed highway accident data to determine whether or not the number of fatalities and injuries following 9/11 differed from those in the same time period in 2000 and 2002.MethodsMotor crash data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s Fatality Analysis Reporting System were analyzed to determine the numbers and rates of fatalities and injuries nationally and in selected states for the 20 days after September 11, in each of 2000, 2001, and 2002.ResultsWhile the fatality rate did not change appreciably, the number of less severe injuries was statistically higher in 2001 than in 2000, both nationally and in New York State.ConclusionsThe fear of terror attacks may have compelled Americans to drive instead of fly. They were thus exposed to the heightened risk of injury and death posed by driving. The need for public health to manage risk perception and communication is thus heightened in an era of global fear and terrorism.