Satisfaction with life, health and well-being: comparison between non-traumatic spinal cord dysfunction, traumatic spinal cord injury and Australian norms

Study design: Cross-sectional survey. Objectives: The objective of this study is to compare self-reported satisfaction with life, and self-reported health and wellbeing of people with NTSCD, to that of people with TSCI, and with Australian population. Setting: Victoria, Australia. Methods: Participants completed surveys by post or email. The Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS) and the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) were used to assess self-reported satisfaction with life, and health and well-being. Descriptive statistics are reported including median and interquartile range (IQR). The Mann–Whitney U-test was used to investigate differences between groups. Results: There were 41 participants: NTSCD (n = 14) and TSCI (n = 27). There were no significant differences in the median scores on the SWLS for NTSCD and TSCI, but both groups scored lower than the Australian non-disabled sample mean. There were significant differences between NTSCD and TSCI for SF-36 domains physical functioning, role limitations physical and vitality (p < 0.05). Median scores for both groups in all eight domains were lower than the means of the comparative Australian sample, except for role limitations emotional. Conclusions: There were more apparent difficulties for people with NTSCD in completing desired functional tasks than those with TSCI. Both groups had lower self-reported satisfaction with life, and lower reported health and well-being in comparison to samples of non-disabled Australians.