PURPOSE The purpose of the study was to identify levels of hope, self-esteem, and quality of life, and to find correlations among these variables in people with spinal cord injury. METHODS This study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey. The data were collected by survey interview in 2010 from 120 people with spinal cord injury living in the community. To measure hope, self-esteem and quality of life, the Dispositional Hope Scale, Self-Esteem Scale, and World Health Organization's Quality of Life Instrument were utilized respectively. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson's correlation and stepwise multiple regression analysis using SPSS version 12.0. RESULTS Mean score of hope was 2.56 and that of self-esteem was 3.23. Mean score of quality of life was 3.01. Statistically significant relationships were found between quality of life and hope (r=.73, p<.001), and between quality of life and self-esteem (r=.67, p<.001). Multiple regression analyses showed that hope and self-esteem were statistically significant in predicting quality of life with the explanatory power of 59.1%. CONCLUSION The results of this study indicate that nursing interventions fostering hope and self-esteem should be integrated in developing rehabilitation programs to improve quality of life for people with spinal cord injury.
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