The associations of functional independence and quality of life with sitting balance and wheelchair skills among wheelchair users with spinal cord injury

Context/Objective: To examine the associations of functional independence and quality of life (QOL) with sitting balance and wheelchair skills among individuals living with Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) who use a wheelchair full time. Methods: Secondary data analysis of a total of 59 wheelchair users living with SCI. Eighteen individuals were included in all analyses involving sitting balance. Demographics information and characteristics of SCI were collected through a survey. Participants reported their wheelchair skills performance, confidence, and capacity; functional independence; and QOL using the Wheelchair Skills Test Questionnaire (WST-Q) 5.0, Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM III), and World Health Organization QOL (WHOQOL-BREF), respectively. Sitting balance was assessed remotely using the Function in Sitting Test (FIST). Correlations between variables were analyzed using the Spearman rank correlation test. Results: All the measures of SCIM III (total, selfcare, and mobility) correlated with the FIST (ρ = 0.52–0.66, p < 0.01 and p < 0.05). SCIM III-Mobility correlated with WST-performance, capacity, and confidence (ρ = 0.38–0.51, p < 0.01). WHOQOL-physical health and environment significantly correlated with WST-capacity and confidence (ρ = 0.26–0.33, p < 0.05). The FIST, WST-Performance, and level of injury did not correlate with any WHOQOL domain. Conclusions: Lower functional independence and mobility are associated with poor sitting balance and poor wheelchair skills. Higher QOL may be associated with higher wheelchair skills. Future research is warranted to examine these relationships longitudinally to establish causality.