Community reintegration postspinal cord injury: Indian scenario

Abstract

Patients who suffer from spinal cord injury because of their permanent mobility and/or cognitive impairment will usually face difficulties in reentering into the community. The aim of this paper is to review the relevant architectural and attitudinal barrier, transportation difficulties in the current Indian scenario. MEDLINE®, Embase™, the Science Citation Index, and Google™ Scholar were used to look for relevant articles published in English literature. Rehabilitation should promote the full inclusion and participation of people with disabilities in the physical and psychosocial environment. The past two decades have seen a renewed interest in India to improve services for spinal injured. Although there are number of barriers to successful community reintegration in India; a holistic and empathetic approach to prioritize this issue is the need of the hour. Recent initiatives taken by the government, namely, “Sugamya Bharat Abhiyan - Accessible India” and Person with Disability Act 1995 are welcome steps in this direction.