# Territorial Continuity of Care for Patients with Spinal Cord Injury: A Focus Group Study
## 3 Results  
A total of 23 participants were included in FG during the study; particularly, 13 patients participated to FG. As for their general characteristics, there was an even distribution by gender (six women/seven men), while age showed a very wide range (from 18 to 76 years, with a mean value of 51.25 years). With regard to the location of the spinal cord lesion, most of the included patients had a dorsal lesion (six), while cervical (two) and lumbar (three) lesions were less represented. According to AIS grading [17], the majority of the sample (six patients) had an AIS A lesion (descriptive of a complete lesion without sub-lesional preservation), four patients had AIC C classification (motor preservation below the lesion level with most muscles preserved with strength less or equal to 3) and only one patient had AIS D grade (motor preservation below the lesion level with most muscles preserved with strength greater than or equal to 3). The remaining two patients had two incomplete syndromes (Brown-Sequard and cauda equina syndrome). As for functional abilities, most patients (12 out of 13) were independent in activities of daily life with aids or devices (wheelchairs or orthoses), while 1 patient had a low degree of dependence on a caregiver. Finally, all patients were involved in social/recreational or sport activities at the time of the study, but only six of them had a regular job: four were employed, one was a bar owner and one was the chief of an ONLUS association. Regarding professionals, 10 took part in the study: 6 physiotherapists (3 of whom worked exclusively in home settings, and 1 with a specialization in robotics), 2 occupational therapists, 1 nurse, and 1 technical coordinator of the rehabilitation area. No drop-outs were registered for both groups. The final qualitative theory, shown in Figure 1, offers a comprehensive view of territorial continuity from patients' and healthcare professionals' perspectives. The analysis of the excerpts led us to identify 435 verbatim; these were grouped into 21 initial themes, of which 18 were shared between both patients and healthcare professionals, highlighting a significant convergence in their perceptions. Through this analysis we then identified five emerging themes. The first emerging theme was named \"Continuity for SCI patients as multidisciplinary teamwork\": this category included the initial themes \"empathy\", \"references\", \"needs\", \"expectations\" (only patients). Multidisciplinary teamwork, including peer support, is described as a fundamental component of the continuity of care for people with spinal cord injury. Patients find great comfort and inspiration from a comparison with other people who experience a similar situation and the need for a stable and reliable point of reference is fundamental along the treatment path. FG1-P1 (patient) \"physiotherapist who helped me so much, then also the figures such as nurse, [PERSON] because they stand by you on the way, because a laugh, a smile helps you\". The second theme was \"Evolution of needs as a driver of continuity\": patients' needs evolve as a real driving force of continuity care, stimulating professional updating by healthcare professionals. Long-term management of this condition is essential to learn and face the new challenges of daily life; it manifests as a gradual process of empowerment of the patient with a spinal cord injury and their family and caregivers, involving clinical and social dimensions. In this context, we emphasize the emerging themes of \"evolution of needs\" and \"physiotherapy\". FG1-P2 (patient) \"basically, the needs you have at the beginning are completely different, because even I just finished the course back in the day, I thought I had recovered and that I was OK for the rest of my life, but as the years go by you realize that our body ages and changes, a series of problems come up which can be sores, shoulders, the bladder that stops working and so you have a series of needs that you don't know how to deal with\".