Burden of support for partners of persons with spinal cord injuries

Study design: Cross-sectional survey. Objectives: (1) To describe the support given to persons with spinal cord injuries (SCI) by their partners, (2) to describe the perceived burden of support by partners and (3) to examine predictors of perceived burden of support. Setting: The Netherlands. Methods: All members of the Dutch patients organisation DON ( N =1004) and their caregivers, if applicable, were invited. Physical disability of the person with SCI was measured using the Barthel Index (BI). A number of secondary conditions, other practical problems and psychosocial problems were recorded. Partner support was described using a list of ADLsupport, other practical support and emotional support. Burden of support was measured by a six-item measure (Cronbach's alpha 0.92), Nonparametric descriptive statistics and correlations were used. Linear regression was used to identify predictors of caregiver burden. Results: Responses were obtained from 461 persons with SCI. Of 265 couples, patient as well as partner data were available. Mean age of the partners was 49.4 years (SD 12.2) and 69.8% were women. Mean BI of the persons with SCI was12.3 (SD 4.7) on a 0–20 scale and 60.4% were seriously disabled (BI