IN A research on the condition and rehabilitation of people with spinal cord injury, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University highlights a worrying trend that the youth suffers the most from such injury. Spinal cord injury, which can cause temporary or permanent changes in its function, is the highest among people aged 18–30 years. The study has covered 2,469 patients from 2018 to 2022 from different institutes and hospitals. The results of the study, the first of its kind, were made public in Dhaka on January 7.  Among the patients with traumatic spinal injury, 45.43 per cent became injured after falling from heights, followed by 29.38 per cent from road accidents, and 24.30 per cent from hanging and 0.86 per cent from sport-related spinal injury. Disease-related spinal injury is common among geriatric patients, but a significant number of patients with tumours and tuberculosis also develop spinal problems. Researchers observe that there is a serious lack of information on national health care, disability status and rehabilitation system for people with such injury.

In 2020, the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed raised similar concern about the need for awareness of spinal cord injury and supporting people with such injury. There is poor awareness among medical professionals and ordinary people of the nature of physical and economic support for victims of such trauma. For patients with spinal injury, specialised care immediately after the accident is critical. But on-site first responders are not adequately trained in how to transport a patient without causing further harm. In such cases, a three-tier, log-run rehabilitation care is necessary, but rehabilitation centres are limited. More importantly, the primary cause for spinal injury is not properly studied but it is important to develop prevention strategies. That majority of injuries are from falling from heights, it can be construed that lack of occupational safety, especially in the construction sector, may have been a contributing factor. The Accident Research Institute and the Passenger Welfare Association have occasionally talked about road accident-related spinal injury and how they cripple individuals and their families. Physicians have also talked about the rise of mental illness and an increasing number of suicide attempts as reasons for a higher burden of spinal injury among the youth. The public health strategy to prevent and minimise spinal injury, however, cannot depend on speculation. It calls for a spinal injury surveillance system.

For an effective prevention strategy and efficient care for patients with spinal injury, the health ministry needs to have a spinal injury surveillance system in place so that it has readily available data on the nature of and reasons for the injury. The government should allocate an adequate budget to improve the capacity of first responders and enhance the trauma management capacity in public hospitals and health centres. The ministry should seriously consider three-tier rehabilitation cares to support such patients.