How Is Hope Operationalized After Spinal Cord Injury? A Scoping Review of Instruments, Analytic Roles, and Clinical Outcomes

Abstract

This project is a scoping review mapping how hope has been studied in adults with spinal cord injury (SCI), and in particular whether it has been examined as a predictor, mediator, moderator, or outcome in recovery. SCI outcomes research focuses mainly on neurologic and functional recovery, while psychosocial factors that may shape adjustment, participation, treatment adherence, and quality of life receive less attention. Hope has well-developed theoretical models and validated measures, but research on hope in SCI is scattered across rehabilitation psychology, nursing, and disability literatures, and no review has mapped its role in recovery. Following JBI scoping review methodology and PRISMA-ScR reporting, we will search MEDLINE, Scopus, APA PsycInfo, and CINAHL, supplemented by citation searching. Two reviewers will independently screen records and chart data from English-language primary studies of any design, including dissertations, in which hope is measured, modeled, or analyzed as a qualitative theme. We expect to describe the designs, populations, instruments, and theoretical frameworks used to study hope in SCI; to map the roles hope has been assigned and the outcomes linked to it; and to summarize hope-focused interventions. We anticipate a small literature dominated by cross-sectional and qualitative studies, with few longitudinal, mediation, or interventional studies. The review will identify these gaps and propose priorities for future research, including testing hope as a mechanism linking psychosocial factors to rehabilitation outcomes.