Views of health care users and providers: Solutions to improve the prevention of secondary health conditions among people with spinal cord injury, South Africa

STUDY DESIGN: Explorative- qualitative study. OBJECTIVE: This study explored solutions to improve the prevention of secondary health conditions in people with spinal cord injury. SETTING: Rehabilitation hospital, South Africa. METHODS: Face to face semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 therapists and 17 people with spinal cord injury at a public rehabilitation hospital. All the interviews were transcribed verbatim. Content analysis was conducted on the transcripts to identify proposed solutions to improve the prevention of secondary health conditions. RESULTS: The main theme that emerged was access to adequate health care. The categories linked to the main theme were: availability of health services, patient-centred care, strengthening rehabilitation care, access to resources and training health professionals. CONCLUSIONS: Access to adequate health is central to preventing and managing secondary health conditions. Care for people with spinal cord injury needs to be empowering and address rehabilitation care needs across the lifespan. The proposed solutions will inform the development of a prevention care model for secondary health conditions in people with spinal cord injury.