Abstract
Objective: To verify which aspects influence the quality of life of the individual with spinal cord injury, performing a survey of the state of the art. Method: A review of the literature was made composed of scientific articles published in the years 2012 to 2017 indexed in the following databases: Pubmed / Medline, Science Direct and Scielo. The articles were searched in Portuguese, English and Spanish. Results and discussion: Of the 252 articles found, 12 met the inclusion criteria. The selected articles were analyzed according to author (year), type of study, place, instrument of measurement, scientific periodical, objective of the study, variable of outcome, sample, main findings. Negative changes were found in physical, psychological, social, environmental, including sexual activity and pain, while physical activity, marital status and occupational activity contributed positively to the quality of life of patients with spinal cord injury, positive, the colostomy. Patients with spinal cord injury classify quality of life moderately. The most used instrument in the studies to evaluate the quality of life of this population was the Short Form Health Survey (SF-36), accompanied by the World Health Organization Quality of Life - Bref (WHOQOL-Bref). Final considerations: Several aspects of quality of life are not considered satisfactory for those with spinal cord injury. There are several domains that demonstrate this dissatisfaction (social, environmental, psychological, physical). Changes in public health policies are of great importance for improving the quality of life and social inclusion of these individuals.