Traumatic spinal cord injury in Uganda: a prevention strategy and mechanism to improve home care

Abstract

In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the burden of traumatic spinal cord injury (TSCI) is largely unknown. The estimated incidence of TSCI in LMICs is 25.5/million/year, and the impact on affected patients and their families is presumed to be immense due to the social structure, limited health system resources and reliance on family to care for those that survive injury to return home. In sub-Saharan Africa, extrapolated regional figures for incidence range from 21 – 29/million/year, and the occurrence of a spinal injury is likely to be fatal within a year.