Nearly 80% of people with spinal cord injuries have a neurogenic bladder, which can have a major effect on quality of life. As clinicians, we do not know very much about what really determines the quality of life related to neurogenic bladder management after spinal cord injury. Is it a great catheter? Is it a urinary diversion?
The participating research teams in the PCORI funded Neurogenic Bladder Research Group (NBRG) at the Universities of Michigan, Minnesota, Utah and Western University in Ontario, Canada have launched a database that will be used to study how patients feel about their bladder management. They hope to discover not only what does and does not work for patients, but how to provide better care for people with spinal cord injuries in the future.
The study is currently enrolling patients in the US and Canada, and participants can enroll remotely. Study participants must meet the following criteria:
-
Be 18 years of age or older
-
Have a recent or past spinal cord injury
-
Be willing to participate in a 30 minute phone enrollment interview
-
Commit to completing questionnaires about their health and quality of life related to their bladder management and spinal cord injury every three months for one year
Participants will receive $50 after completing enrollment questionnaires and an additional $50 once all surveys have been completed at the end
of one year. Participation in this study is voluntary and participants can withdraw at any time.
Potential subjects can sign up at http://www.nbrg.org/