A RCT of a Psychological Health Promotion Program for Women with SCI:Examining Efficacy and Mechanisms

Thursday, November 10, 2022

3:15 PM – 3:31 PM

Presenting Author(s)

Susan Robinson-Whelen, PhD

Assistant Professor / Scientist
Baylor College of Medicine / TIRR Memorial Hermann
Houston, Texas, United States

Slides

Non-presenting Author(s)

Rosemary B. Hughes, PhD

Research Professor and Senior Research Scientist
University of Montana
Missoula, Montana, Montana, United States
Diana Gonzalez, Bachelor's Degree in Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin

Research Coordinator
TIRR Memorial Hermann
Houston, Texas, United States
LN

Linda Norah-Davis, Juris Doctorate

Advisor
TIRR Memorial Hermann
Bellaire, Texas, United States
LL

Leon-Novelo Luis, Ph.D.

Statistician
University of Texas Health Science Center Houston
Houston, Texas, United States
EN

Esther Ngan, B.S.

Research Assistant
UTHealth
Houston, Texas, United States
Heather B. Taylor, MS, MEd, PhD

Director/ Spinal Cord Injury and Disability Research, TIRR MH
TIRR Memorial Hermann/UTHealth
Houston, Texas, United States

The presentation will provide results of a randomized controlled trial of a psychological health promotion program for women with SCI. The study consisted of a national sample of 175 women with traumatic SCI who were at least one year post-injury and were randomized to the Zest intervention or a control group that received Zest program materials at the end of the study. The 10-week group-based intervention was offered in the online virtual world of Second Life with women represented by avatars. The presentation will review analyses examining the effect of the intervention on primary outcome variables (self-esteem, depression, life satisfaction). Results of analyses testing potential mediators of the effect of the intervention on outcomes will also be presented. Study findings suggest that group psychoeducational programs that target self-efficacy enhancement and stress management hold promise for improving psychological health among women with SCI.

Learning Objectives:

Discuss psychological health challenges of people with SCI, including limited availability and access to interventions to promote or enhance psychological health and well-being
Describe the Zest Intervention, an online, group, psychological health promotion program for women with SCI that is co-facilitated by a woman with SCI
Describe results of analyses examining the efficacy of the Zest intervention
Describe results of the mediation analyses testing potential mechanisms of change
Describe potential future applications of such psychoeducational programs and the utility of using Second Life as a platform for offering the programs to people with mobility limitations, such as SCI