Table 1 Comments about barriers and facilitators to inclusion of people with lived experience of spinal cord injury in editorial board and review processes

Privacy and knowledge barriers to inclusion

"There may be reviewers for my journal who do not have SCI – I don’t ask for that information … I’m not sure I am even allowed to ask that."

"We do not ask reviewers what their abilities or disabilities may be. I have no idea if we have anyone with a lived experience of SCI reviewing for us."

"I do not even know whether there are reviewers with SCI."

Strategies for inclusion

"We are currently conducting research into how consumers, including people with SCI, would like to be involved with the journal. We did not think it appropriate for us to make the decisions in isolation."

Momentum toward inclusion

"Our journal is comprised of approximately 30–40% people who self-identify as disabled. They are not required to disclose what disability they have, so we don’t know what everyone has. Also, our journal focuses on a wide range of disabilities, so a wide range of conditions are represented on our editorial board and reviewers."

"I believe that the inclusion of individuals living with SCI and other neurological disorders should be involved in all aspects of scientific reviews."