Unmet rehabilitation needs in the first 6 months post-injury in a trauma centre population with moderate-to-severe traumatic injuries.
Håkon Øgreid Moksnes, Nada Andelic, Christoph Schäfer and 14 others
PMID 38803207WHAT IT FOUND
Almost 60% of trauma patients had unmet community rehabilitation needs in the first 6 months, especially rehabilitation and social support.
Less central residence, profound injury, severe head injury, and direct discharge to specialized rehabilitation were linked to higher unmet needs.
Key findings
01Almost 60% of patients had unmet community-based service needs during the first 6 months after injury.
02Overall, 20.4% of participants had unmet subacute inpatient rehabilitation needs on the total RCS E-Trauma score.
03In the community needs model, less central residence increased odds by 1.9 times, while profound injury, head injury with AIS at least 3, and discharge to specialized rehabilitation each increased odds by 1.8 times.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTsWhat it means for OTs
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What it does not show
Non-Norwegian residents, patients with insufficient Norwegian or English, and patients who died before discharge were excluded, so the sample may not represent those groups. Marginal groups may have had lower inclusion and follow-up rates, which the authors list as a possible selection bias. The study ran during the COVID-19 pandemic, and external factors may have influenced inclusion and services received. Patient-reported services at 6 months may be affected by recall bias. The methods for estimating rehabilitation needs were not extensively validated in a trauma population or Scandinavian healthcare setting. The subacute rehabilitation measure does not capture delays in transfer, quality of multidisciplinary treatment, or discharge plans. The organization of community-based services across municipalities was not assessed. Patient outcomes related to service needs were not presented in this paper.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The research was funded by the South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority, grant no. 2019043.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that discharge to specialized rehabilitation causes unmet community needs. It was associated with 1.8 times higher odds in this 6-month observational cohort, and the authors say it may reflect injury severity or local service prioritisation.