Abstract
Study design
Three-round Delphi study followed by a Consensus Conference with selected stakeholders.
Objectives
To identify a set of core educational content that people with spinal cord injury (SCI) need to acquire during rehabilitation.
Setting
The Delphi study was performed electronically. The Consensus Conference was held at the Città della Salute e della Scienza University Hospital of Turin, Italy.
Methods
A panel of 20 experts (healthcare professionals and SCI survivors) participated in a three-round Delphi study. In round 1, arguments for core educational content were solicited and reduced into items. In rounds 2 and 3, a five-point Likert scale was used to find consensus on and validate core educational content items (threshold for consensus and agreement: 60% and 80%, respectively). A Consensus Conference involving 32 stakeholders was held to discuss, modify (if appropriate) and approve the list of validated items.
Results
The 171 arguments proposed in round 1 were reduced into 74 items; 67 were validated in round 3. The Consensus Conference approved a final list of 72 core educational content items, covering 16 categories, which were made into a checklist.
Conclusions
Consensus was achieved for a set of core educational content for people with SCI. The resultant checklist could serve as an assessment tool for both healthcare professionals and SCI survivors. It can also be used to support SCI survivors’ education, streamline resource use and bridge the gap between information provided during rehabilitation and information SCI survivors need to function in the community.
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Data availability
The datasets generated and analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
We wish to thank the participants from the SCI Regional Coordination of Torino, their caregivers and healthcare professionals of the Italian Spinal Cord Society (SIMS) for dedicating their time to this study.
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AB, AC and AR were responsible for designing and writing the study protocol, and for submitting the study to the ethical committee. AB and AC were also responsible for writing the report and coordinating research activities. AR and SM were responsible for database management and analysed the data. AB, AR and SC interpreted the results. SC and VD provided methodological supervision to the study and feedback on the report.
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The authors declare no competing interests.
Ethical approval
The study was approved (Resolution No. 105785/2016 - #CS2/28) by the Città della Salute e della Scienza di Torino, Mauriziano Hospital, ASL TO 1 Research Ethics Committee. All applicable institutional and governmental regulations concerning the ethical use of human volunteers were followed. All respondents to the three rounds of the Delphi study were included only after acknowledging their willingness to participate in the study. The participants in the Consensus Conference provided written, informed consent and anonymity was maintained throughout the research process.
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Borraccino, A., Conti, A., Rizzi, A. et al. Developing a consensus on the core educational content to be acquired by people with spinal cord injuries during rehabilitation: findings from a Delphi study followed by a Consensus Conference. Spinal Cord 59, 1187–1199 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41393-021-00652-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41393-021-00652-2
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