What is it?
Tracking Independence. Empowering Recovery
For most individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI), maximizing functional recovery to return to community living is the ultimate goal. To support this, clinicians need an outcome measure that accurately reflects functional skills for guiding rehabilitation plans, tracking progress, and setting priorities for discharge.
The Spinal Cord Independence Measure (SCIM), is a disability scale developed specifically for the SCI population. It assesses key activities of daily living — self-care, respiration and sphincter management, and mobility. SCIM is sensitive enough to capture changes in independence over time, making it an essential tool during rehabilitation and after discharge.
Although SCIM is the internationally preferred research tool for SCI, most Canadian facilities relied on the Functional Independence Measure (FIM), which was designed for the general population with disability and lacks sensitivity for SCI. Since reaching consensus with our Canadian SCI Care network in 2013, Praxis has worked directly with clinicians to implement SCIM at our Registry facilities—growing adoption from 2 in 2014 to 11 of 14 today.
List of Support & Educational Resources by Praxis
SCIM CLINICAL TOOLKIT
A comprehensive guide to support the clinical use of SCIM and its integration into practice. Includes rationale, practical tips, and resources to support clinicians and teams for broader implementation.
SCIM TRAINING
Interactive workshops (in-person or virtual) are designed to help clinicians from our Registry sites confidently apply SCIM in clinical practice.
CLINICAL LEAD SUPPORT
Ongoing support for SCIM implementation, including direct assistance and opportunities for sites to connect and learn from each other.
SCIM WEBINAR
An on-demand training resource designed to guide SCIM III administration within the Canadian healthcare context. It also provides strategies for using SCIM data from the Praxis-led Canadian National SCI Registry to inform program development and research that drives change.