Quality of life in road traffic accident survivors

• Published in: Zdravstveno varstvo Vol. 59; no. 4; pp. 202 - 210
• Main Authors: Kovačević, Jelena, Miškulin, Maja, Ličanin, Matea Matić, Barać, Josip, Biuk, Dubravka, Palenkić, Hrvoje, Matić, Suzana, Kristić, Marinela, Biuk, Egon, Miškulin, Ivan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Poland Sciendo 01.12.2020; Institute of Public Health of the Republic of Slovenia
• Subjects: cestnoprometna nesreča; Compensation; health status; Injuries; injury severity; kakovost življenja; Mental disorders; Mental health; odškodnina; Quality of life; resnost poškodbe; road traffic accident; Socioeconomic factors; Socioeconomics; Survival; Traffic accidents; Traffic accidents & safety; zdravstveno stanje; health status; compensation; injury severity; quality of life; road traffic accident
• ISSN: 0351-0026; 1854-2476; 1854-2476
• DOI: 10.2478/sjph-2020-0026

The loss of quality of life is the major consequence following a non-fatal road traffic accident (RTA). Previous research regarding quality of life did not include uninjured RTA survivors. The research aim was thus to evaluate the quality of life of the RTA survivors regardless of whether or not they sustained injures, and to identify factors associated with decreased quality of life after the RTA. A cohort of 200 RTA survivors with and without injuries was followed after experiencing an RTA. The quality of life and mental health outcomes were assessed 1 month following RTA. A vast range of sociodemographic, pre-RTA health-related, RTA related, RTA injury-related, compensation-related factors and mental health outcomes were investigated. Decreased quality of life following an RTA showed an association with the low socioeconomic status of the RTA victims, poor pre-RTA health, injury-related factors, compensation-related factors and psychological disorders after the RTA. Identifying predictors of decreased quality of life following an RTA will enable planning interventions targeting the most important factors that influence recovery of RTA victims. Assessing and recording of self-reported quality of life should be a part of the routine protocol in RTA survivors' health-care.