Characteristics collected from clinical records for those eligible for the longitudinal SCI study
| Characteristics | Participants (n=118) | Non-participants (n=44) | p-Value |
| n (%) | n (%) | ||
| Age (years) | |||
| 16–24 | 21 (18) | 14 (32) | |
| 25–34 | 21 (18) | 9 (20) | |
| 35–44 | 24 (20) | 11 (25) | |
| 45–54 | 28 (24) | 8 (18) | |
| 55–64 | 24 (20) | 2 (5) | 0.067 |
| Sex | |||
| Male | 90 (76) | 34 (77) | |
| Female | 28 (24) | 10 (23) | 0.894 |
| Spinal unit | |||
| Auckland Spinal Unit | 59 (50) | 23 (52) | |
| Burwood Spinal Unit | 59 (50) | 21 (48) | 0.797 |
| AIS grade | |||
| A | 36 (31) | 14 (32) | |
| B | 9 (8) | 2 (5) | |
| C | 10 (9) | 4 (9) | |
| D | 63 (53) | 24 (55) | 0.921 |
| Ethnicity | |||
| New Zealand European | 77 (65) | 21 (48) | |
| Māori | 17 (14) | 12 (27) | |
| Pacific* | 10 (8) | 8 (18) | |
| Other | 14 (12) | 3 (9) | 0.044 |
Both spinal units have similar rehabilitation programmes in place. Patients are not denied access to the units—although there may be delays in admission if the units are full. The Auckland Spinal Unit accepts patients after they have mobilised (eg, to a wheelchair) in the referring hospital, and has an average length of stay 2 weeks shorter than the Burwood Spinal Unit which is involved in patients' care from day 1. The Auckland Spinal Unit (20 beds) accepts patients from the upper half of the North Island; the Burwood Spinal Unit (28 beds) from the rest of New Zealand.
↵* Pacific ethnicity=Pacific groups as stated in the New Zealand Census (ie, Samoan, Cook Island Māori, Tongan and Niuean).
AIS, ASIA Impairment Scale; SCI, spinal cord neurological impairment.