Purpose: This article aims to present a comprehensive conceptual model of the SCIRehab project, which merges the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) focus on outcomes with the practice-based evidence (PBE) research design, which focuses on process and also quantifies person and outcomes details. The SCIRehab methodology operationalised this conceptual model to implement the most data-intensive study of spinal cord injury to date. We discuss the conceptual and methodological contributions of SCIRehab and how this comprehensive research approach may complement randomised controlled trials.
Methods: PBE methodology applied to the SCIRehab study used extensive clinician input to develop taxonomies of each discipline's interventions and an electronic point-of-care documentation system to capture extensive details of the rehabilitation process. Traditional medical record abstracting and follow-up surveys were used to capture details on patient characteristics and outcomes achieved by 12 months post-injury.
Results: Not applicable.
Conclusions: Although data collection is not complete, the SCIRehab project has made major contributions to rehabilitation research, including a comprehensive conceptual model of person, process and outcome domains; discipline-specific taxonomies of rehabilitation interventions; and an electronic documentation system to capture details of the rehabilitation process.