Praxis announces SCI COVID Award Winners

The Praxis SCI COVID Awards were created in response to the impact of COVID-19 on the SCI community. These awards are expected to help develop COVID-19 resources to facilitate the care, health, and wellness of individuals living with SCI.

Congratulations to all the award winners!

Read the original RFA.

Award 1

Title: COVID Toolkit for People with SCI

Principal Investigator: Janice Eng, Professor, University of British Columbia

The emerging threat of the COVID-19 pandemic and its accompanying social distancing requirements present specific health, accessibility, and well-being concerns for people with spinal cord injury (SCI), including: social isolation, physical deterioration, depression, anxiety, and a higher risk for respiratory dysfunction. To fill this gap, Dr. Eng and her team will develop evidence-based resources in the form of text, images and videos that address the unique challenges faced by people with SCI in the wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic to assist coping. Content will have input from clinical experts, as well as consumers with lived SCI experience. This timely content will be available on the SCIRE website and the SCIRE YouTube channel.

Award 2

Title: Acute Admission Care Plan for SCI

Principal Investigator: Susan Jaglal, Interim Chair and Professor, Department of Physical Therapy, University of Toronto

Individuals living with chronic SCI are frequently admitted to hospital for care related to the secondary consequences of SCI, as well as other medical issues such as COVID-19. This can disrupt their self-management routines and can expose them to the risk of hospital-acquired complications. Care planning tools designed for acute care admission could help inform acute care providers about the individual’s unique SCI-related needs. Dr. Jaglal and her team will develop a prototype online form that will allow individuals to document, in consultation with their health care team, the specific characteristics of their SCI and the details of their self-management routines (e.g. bladder, bowel, skin, and respiratory care). This information can be converted to a PDF document for printing and sharing with care providers on admission to emergency department or other acute care.

Award 3

Title: Evaluation of a Provincial Telehealth Strategy to Promote Community Connection and Improve Access to Rehabilitation Services for Persons with Spinal Cord Injury Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Albertan Collaborative Webinar & Rehabilitation Advice Line Initiative

Principal Investigator: Adalberto Loyola-Sanchez, Assistant Professor, University of Alberta

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted services received by people living with disabilities, including people with SCI. This disruption of health services will likely cause more hospitalizations and emergency-room visits, which has prompted the implementation of a novel telehealth strategy by the SCI community in Alberta. This telehealth includes a clinician operated phone service advice line and a bimonthly webinar learning series led by health providers from SCI rehabilitation programs, SCI Alberta, and individuals with lived experience. Dr. Loyola-Sanchez and his team will develop a tool-kit to describe the design of the telehealth interventions and share the webinars with the national and international SCI community. The evaluation will focus on the feasibility of the telehealth strategy in Alberta and impact on users’ experiences and health outcomes to inform quality improvement and plan for sustainability.  This service and these resources will also include other neurological conditions such as Parkinson’s Disease and Multiple Sclerosis.

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