Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40163042›Full record

ArticleThe journal of spinal cord medicine2026

'She didn't know what to do with me': The experience of seeking community mental health support after spinal cord injury.

Katherine A Finlay, Phoebe Brook-Rowland, Margaret Tilley

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The journal of spinal cord medicine, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors.

Katherine A FinlaySchool of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK.ORCID 0000-0002-8997-2652
Phoebe Brook-RowlandSchool of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK.
Margaret TilleySchool of Psychology, University of Buckingham, Buckingham, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

CONTEXT/

objectivesAdults with spinal cord injury in the UK do not currently have specialized access to SCI-informed community-based mental health support, despite their elevated risk of mental health decline. The lack of SCI-informed therapeutic support may increase the likelihood of mental health treatment failure. This study sought to qualitatively explore the experience of accessing, or attempting to access, generic (non-SCI-informed) mental health support when living with a spinal cord injury.

designQualitative, exploratory study using thematic analysis.

settingCommunity-based sample in the UK.

participantsTwenty people with spinal cord injury (10 female, 10 male) were recruited from a UK-based, SCI-specific support charity.

interventionsSemi-structured interviews (mean length = 83 min, SD = 13.5 min). OUTCOME MEASURES: 9-item semi-structured interview schedule, addressing mental health service use.

resultsThree themes were identified: (1) Therapeutic timeliness; (2) A disconnect with standard services; and (3) Successful systems for support. The inpatient-to-outpatient transition represents a critical time window during which mental health is vulnerable to decline, requiring responsive access to mental health services throughout the lifespan. The lack of tailored, SCI-informed mental health services inhibits therapeutic engagement and limits perceived treatment outcomes.

conclusionsWithout SCI-informed care, generic mental health service referrals risk early termination of support and treatment disengagement. Mental health treatment withdrawal is initiated by both patients and their allocated healthcare professionals. This study demonstrates an evident need to develop programs for people with SCI to train as (peer) mental health practitioners, and to develop SCI-specific training modules for mental health care practitioners.

Indexed as

Community Mental Health ServicesPatient Acceptance of Health CareSpinal Cord InjuriesAdultAgedFemaleHealth Services AccessibilityHumansMaleMiddle AgedQualitative ResearchUnited KingdomCognitive behavioral therapyPsychological wellbeingQualitativeRehabilitationTreatment failure

Identifiers

PMID40163042
PMCPMC12931335

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.