Female participation in randomized controlled trials of motor rehabilitation after spinal cord injury: a systematic review.

Study design: Systematic Review Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate female participation in spinal cord injury (SCI) motor rehabilitation randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which included the overall proportion of female participants and how this proportion changed with time...

Descripción completa

Detalles Bibliográficos
Publicado en:Spinal Cord Vol. 64; no. 7; pp. 581 - 588
Autores principales: Cameron, Lindsay, Ryan, Sarah, Bowman, Andrew, Bateman, Emma A., Eng, Janice J., Mehta, Swati, Sequeira, Keith, Teasell, Robert
Formato: research systematic review tables/charts Journal Article
Publicado: Springer Nature Jul2026
Acceso en línea:Ver este registro en EBSCOhost
fields @attributes:
  recordID: 1
pdfLink:
plink: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ccm&AN=195184891&site=ehost-live
header:
  @attributes:
    shortDbName: ccm
    uiTerm: 195184891
    longDbName: CINAHL Complete
    uiTag: AN
  controlInfo:
    bkinfo:
    dissinfo:
    jinfo:
      jid:
        13624393
        DZQ
      jtl: Spinal Cord
      issn: 13624393
      maglogo: Y
    pubinfo:
      dt: Jul2026
      vid: 64
      iid: 7
      pid: 2579
      pub: Springer Nature
      place: Dordrecht, <Blank>
    artinfo:
      ui:
        195184891
        195184891
        195184891
        10.1038/s41393-026-01229-7
        195184891
      ppf: 581
      ppct: 7
      formats:
      tig:
        atl: Female participation in randomized controlled trials of motor rehabilitation after spinal cord injury: a systematic review.
      aug:
        au:
          Cameron, Lindsay
          Ryan, Sarah
          Bowman, Andrew
          Bateman, Emma A.
          Eng, Janice J.
          Mehta, Swati
          Sequeira, Keith
          Teasell, Robert
        affil: https://ror.org/02rkgge26 Lawson Research Institute at St. Joseph's Health Care London, London, Ontario, Canada
      sug:
        subj:
          Spinal Cord Injuries Rehabilitation
          Rehabilitation Methods
          Research Subjects
          Women
          Randomized Controlled Trials
          Motor Skills
          Human
          Systematic Review
          Descriptive Statistics
          Medline
          Embase
          Psycinfo
          CINAHL Database
          Data Analysis Software
          Female
          Checklists
          Linear Regression
          Kruskal-Wallis Test
          Post Hoc Analysis
          Chi Square Test
          Funding Source
          Female
      ab: Study design: Systematic Review Objectives: The objective of this study was to investigate female participation in spinal cord injury (SCI) motor rehabilitation randomized controlled trials (RCTs) which included the overall proportion of female participants and how this proportion changed with time post-injury (TPI), study quality and the intervention investigated. Methods: Systematic searches were conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, PsycInfo and CINAHL databases inclusive to December 31, 2024. Study eligibility included RCTs or RCT crossovers published in English and investigated an intervention for motor rehabilitation on adult participants with traumatic and/or non-traumatic SCI. Data from the RCTs was extracted and summarized using online Excel, with statistical analyses conducted in RStudio. Results: Overall, 252 RCTs met the inclusion criteria and were included in the dataset. Of these, 237 RCTs reported the sex of participants. The overall proportion of female participants was 22.4%, with no significant changes between 2000 and 2024. No significant differences were found between the proportion of female participants and TPI. High quality studies had significantly higher female participation compared to low quality studies (p = 0.008). Significantly higher female participation was found in RCTs investigating technology-based interventions (p < 0.001), with no significant differences found in pharmacological or non-technology-based interventions. Conclusions: The underrepresentation of female participants in studies of SCI motor rehabilitation limits the generalizability of research results and potentially hinders the availability of rehabilitation strategies for female individuals. Understanding what challenges may be preventing higher enrollment and implementing recruitment strategies may aid in increasing the number of female participants in SCI rehabilitation RCTs.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype:
        research
        systematic review
        tables/charts
        Journal Article
      ougenre: Article
    language: English
    refInfo:
    holdings:
      @attributes:
        islocal: N