Introduction:

Spinal cord injury is now considered a public health problem in the country.

Objective:

To analyze the self-care ability of people with spinal cord injury and hygiene.

Methods:

A descriptive study with a quantitative approach, conducted with 22 subjects with spinal cord injury ascribed in 16 health among basic health units and health units Christmas family service, Rio Grande do Norte. Was used as data collection instrument a structured interview through the application of a form called INCEVDOP-LM during home visits. Data analysis was done through descriptive epidemiology.

Results:

Men prevailed (81.8 %), paraplegia (90.9 %), non-white (72.7 %), with religious beliefs (86.4 %) and education ≥10 years (52.4 %). Most of the participants were classified in full independence to carry out the activities related to hygiene, with the exception of environmental cleanliness, which showed total dependence.

Conclusion:

The results can be explained by the limitations imposed by paraplegia, which indicates the importance of promoting strategies for nursing, aiming improvement of self-care and independence of individuals.

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