No abstract

doi: medRxiv preprint NOTE: This preprint reports new research that has not been certified by peer review and should not be used to guide clinical practice.

Introduction Limited access to health care services and the self‐isolation measures due to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic may have had additional unintended negative effects, affecting the health of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI). Objectives To examine the perceived influence of the COVID‐19 pandemic on individuals with SCI. First, this study looked to understand how the pandemic affected the use and perception of telehealth services for these individuals. Second, it investigated the effect of COVID‐19 on mental health. Design Cross‐sectional online survey. Setting Individuals with SCI living in the community in British Columbia, Canada. Patients This survey was offered to individuals with SCI and had 71 respondents, with 34% living in a rural setting and 66% in an urban setting. Interventions Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Telehealth utility, Patient Health Questionnaire‐9 (PHQ‐9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD‐7), Fear of COVID‐19 scale (FCV‐19S), and Perceived Vulnerability to Disease (PVD). Results Telehealth use in the SCI population has increased from 9.9% to 25.4% over the pandemic, with rates of telehealth use in urban centers nearing those of rural participants. Thirty‐one percent of respondents had probable depression and 7.0% had probable generalized anxiety disorder as measured by a score of ≥10 on the PHQ‐9 and GAD‐7, respectively. The mean scores on FCV‐19S and PVD were 17.0 (6.6 SD) and 4.29 (1.02 SD), respectively. Conclusion Telehealth use during COVID‐19 has more than doubled. It is generally well regarded by respondents, although only a fourth of the SCI population has reported its use. With this in mind, it is important to understand the barriers to further adoption. In addition, higher rates of probable depression were seen than those estimated by pre‐pandemic studies in other countries.