A comparison of health behaviors between African Americans with spinal cord injury and those in the general population

Abstract

Objective:

The purpose of this study is to identify whether protective and risk health behaviors are more common among African Americans with spinal cord injury (SCI) compared with African Americans in the general population.

Methods:

Mail-in surveys were collected from 252 adult participants with SCI. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data from 2009 was downloaded.

Results:

Participants with SCI were more likely to report currently smoking. Among those who reported currently smoking, persons with SCI were less likely to report ever trying to quit. Those with SCI were also more likely to report consuming alcohol and binge drinking in the past month. Participants with SCI were more likely to receive a flu shot/spray in the past year and to have ever received a pneumonia vaccine. Conversely, those with SCI were less likely to report ever having their blood cholesterol checked.

Conclusions:

Results of this study suggest that, consistent with previous research, individuals with SCI focused their preventive health behaviors on conditions consistent with SCI prophylactic standard of care (e.g., flu shots and pneumonia vaccines), as compared to behaviors intended to prevent chronic diseases consistent with the overall population.