Enhancing mental health and wellbeing in people with spinal cord injury using the Spinal Cord Injury Health Maintenance Tool

Led by Dr Mohit Arora at the University of Sydney, Australia, with the National Spinal Injuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville, UK

This international research project aims to find the best ways to support the mental health and wellbeing of people living with an SCI. The project is centred on a new resource called the Mental Health and Wellbeing Module (MHM), which was co-designed with people with SCI, who identified mental health as their top priority. The project focuses on how best to introduce and use the MHM in routine healthcare and community settings in both Australia and the UK.

The MHM provides a "toolbox" of evidence-based strategies to help people build resilience and self-management skills. Examples of these strategies include components from recognised therapies, such as mindfulness-based approaches, as well as practical tools like keeping a mood diary.

The goal is to empower people with SCI to better manage their emotional wellbeing, especially for mild symptoms that may not meet the threshold for clinical intervention but still significantly impact quality of life.

This project is due to start in early 2026