Factors associated with perceived social isolation among veterans with spinal cord injury and disorders: Cross sectional survey

Examine demographics, injury characteristics, objective measures of social isolation and health factors that are associated with perceived social isolation (PSI) among Veterans with spinal cord injury and disorders (SCI/D). Cross-sectional survey. The Veterans Health Administrations (VHA) SCI/D system of care. Veterans with SCI/D who have used the VHA health care system. Not applicable. We assessed unadjusted associations of high PSI (above population mean) vs low (normative/below population mean), and multivariable logistic regression for independent associations with PSI. Out of 1942 Veterans with SCI/D, 421 completed the survey (22% response rate). Over half (56%) had PSI mean scores higher than the general population. Among the objective measures, having a smaller social network size was associated with increased odds of high PSI (OR 3.59, P