CognoSCI

A 16-question online survey and focus groups are now gathering data from clinicians and patients across all 11 UK Spinal Injuries Centres to pin down how many people with spinal cord injury develop cognitive impairment. This matters because the true rate of cognitive problems after spinal cord injury is unknown. Standard cognitive tests require hand function—typing, writing, or pressing buttons—which many patients with spinal cord injury cannot perform. As a result, clinicians may miss or underestimate cognitive decline in this group, leaving patients without appropriate support or treatment. If the survey and focus groups succeed, they will produce the first reliable estimate of cognitive impairment incidence in the UK spinal cord injury population. This could change how clinicians screen for cognitive problems, replacing hand-dependent tests with alternatives that work for patients with limited hand function. The findings may also inform routine care pathways at spinal injury centres, ensuring cognitive health is monitored alongside physical rehabilitation. The project does not develop a new diagnostic tool or treatment—it establishes the scale of the problem, which is a necessary first step before designing better screening methods or interventions.