Quality of Life Experienced by Severely Injured Trauma Survivors

Abstract

Advances in technology and the expansion of the emergency medical system have made emergency care available to large numbers of people experiencing trauma. Assessing the quality of life experienced by trauma survivors may assist in the development of interventions to optimize the outcomes in this patient population. The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of life experienced by severely injured trauma survivors, and to determine if a relation exists between the severity of the injury and the quality of life, the impact on the family of survivors, and the community resources needed by the survivors. Severely injured survivors of trauma in this study were defined as patients with a severity of injury severity score (ISS) of 25 or more and a trauma injury score (TRISS) of 0.90 or less. In this descriptive study, telephone interviews were conducted to administer the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP), an analog scale, and a demographic data form. All the survivors were interviewed at least 6 months after discharge from the hospital. The data collected on 64 survivors showed that they experienced a significantly poorer quality of life after the trauma incidents, as indicated by both the SIP scores and the analog scores. Although most of the SIP's 12 behavior categories indicated severe disruption, the behavior categories of work, recreation and pastimes, home management, and sleep and rest were the most negatively affected. Patients and families should be prepared for the physical, emotional, and financial disruptions that occur after severe traumatic injury. Support services, including community resources, are needed to optimize outcomes after discharge.

Use of health care services 6 months following major trauma

“…One study of 64 severely injured (ISS у 24) patients found that 39% of patients required follow-up medical care for at least one year postinjury, 8% required physical therapy, 5% required occupational therapy and 2% required psychological therapy. 1 These figures are lower than reported for our cohort, probably because DePalma and colleagues followed up patients 6 to 27 (mean, 13) months post-discharge, rather than at a standardised time point.…”

“…[1][2][3][4][5] Few studies have described the use of health care services post-trauma, 1,6,7 and the relationship between health care service use and ongoing disability experienced by patients is unknown. Understanding the degree of disability experienced by trauma survivors and their pattern of support and outpatient services use is important for evaluating management approaches and improving health service provision.…”

Determinants of Quality of Life and Role-Related Disability After Injury: Impact of Acute Psychological Responses

“…28,29 As a consequence, early phase management of traumatic injury is increasingly focused on maximizing return to optimal function. As this process becomes progressively more sophisticated, identifying factors in the acute phase that are associated with poor long-term outcomes will help assist clinicians in identifying vulnerable individuals and target interventions if appropriate.…”

Illness representations predict health‐related quality of life 6 months after hospital discharge in individuals with injury: a predictive survey

“…These people experience a decrease in physical strength and fatigue (Haukeland 1996), and may be unable to resume work (DePalma et al 2003). Recreation and home management can be disrupted (Holtslag et al 2007).…”