Article

The aim of this study was to examine the self-reported health status
of road traffic accident victims and the predictors of self-assessed recovery 1
year after major trauma in a French population.
DESIGN: A follow-up study.
METHODS: The cohort comprised 276 seriously injured victims of road traffic
accidents, aged > 16 years from the Rhone administrative department, France.
Victim characteristics at the time of the crash and self-reported health status 1
year after trauma were collected. Predictive factors for self--assessed recovery
were examined using a Poisson regression approach. RESULTS: The majority of
victims were male (76%); most had severe injuries (76%), involving mainly the
lower limbs and the head (68% and 55%, respectively). At 1-year follow-up, 80%
reported being not fully recovered. Self-reported health status was not
significantly associated with age, gender, being in employment, type of road
user, or health status during the year preceding the accident, but rather with
low socio-economic status, high injury severity, and presence of lower limb
injury. CONCLUSION: Care for subjects who are at high risk of not fully
recovering (manual workers, the very seriously injured, and those with lower limb
injury) needs to be extended and improved. Longer follow-up studies on the risk
factors for not fully recovering are needed in order to reduce harmful
consequences for victims.

Langue : ANGLAIS