INTRODUCTION: Occupational therapy patient education is an acknowledged intervention that may enable clients with spinal cord injury to improve performance of activities of daily living. Many spinal cord injury individuals return to the community with inadequate activities of daily living skills due to short length of stay in inpatient rehabilitation. This systematic review evaluates the effect of activities of daily living education on rehabilitation outcomes following spinal cord injury. METHOD: A systematic review and meta-analysis of activities of daily living clinical trials for spinal cord injury was conducted using the PRISMA guidelines. FINDINGS: Three educational interventions were identified: Clinical Practice Guidelines for preservation of upper limb function following spinal cord injury; Peer Mentoring Education; and Needs Assessment Checklist. The educational programmes improved performance in activities of daily living, patient awareness, and health and wellbeing (p = 0.0001 to 0.755). Intermediate and long-term rehabilitation outcomes including self-efficacy, pain, and participation did not improve (p > 0.05). The overall random effect of the Clinical Practice Guidelines programme was ineffective (heterogeneity p = 0.00001, I2 = 97%). CONCLUSION: There was mixed evidence for the effectiveness of activities of daily living education following spinal cord injury. Further research on occupational therapy patient education during spinal cord injury rehabilitation to improve outcomes is needed.

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