The InSCI Community is a global network of health professionals and researchers from diverse disciplines, united by a common goal: to improve the lives of individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) around the world.
At the heart of this initiative is the International Spinal Cord Injury Survey (InSCI) — a cornerstone of the Learning Health System for Spinal Cord Injury (LHS-SCI). Supported by the International Spinal Cord Society (ISCoS) and the International Society for Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM), and hosted by Swiss Paraplegic Research, InSCI collects large-scale self-reported data to generate evidence on the lived experience of SCI. The survey assesses how health and social systems respond to the needs of people with SCI.
The mission of the InSCI Community is to enhance SCI care by bridging the gap between current practices, evidence-based solutions, and national priorities.
A central pillar of InSCI is the community survey, which has now been conducted twice—each time expanding its reach and impact.
The overall objective of InSCI is to identify the key factors that influence functioning and well-being among people with SCI, within the broader context of health systems, policies, services, and societal conditions. The survey provides comparable, cross-national data on the lived experience of disability, enabling both global benchmarking and national reflection.
To ensure long-term progress and data continuity, the InSCI survey is conducted every five years.
Through global collaboration and shared learning, InSCI drives the development of evidence-informed policies, promotes optimized care pathways, and ultimately contributes to improved health, functioning, and quality of life for people living with SCI worldwide.