Having a serious injury from an accident creates many challenges and can lead to multiple long-term problems, many of which are non-physical and happen long after the victim has left the hospital. Prof. Mariska de Jongh, the new professor of Acute Care from a Patient Perspective at Tilburg University, says that when trauma patients leave the hospital, approximately 50% of them will continue to have trouble for many years after leaving the hospital. Many of these people will not return to the same level of functioning they had before the accident.
3 days Ago
Challenges After Leaving the Hospital
Prof. De Jongh has been doing research on trauma patients for the last 20 years. She stated that hospital care for trauma patients is generally well-organized and highly structured.
Emergency medical workers and surgeons follow established protocols for providing immediate and effective care to trauma victims. However, once they are discharged from the hospital, they are faced with several physical, emotional, and psychological challenges that they never really expected.
Prof.
De Jongh mentioned that many trauma patients have no understanding of how they will recover once they get home from the hospital. Every day life can become challenging due to obligations to work and family, and many trauma patients are having difficulty adjusting to their current situations.
Limitations of Current Evaluation Methods
Most hospitals use common questionnaires to determine if a patient is recovering from their injuries by quantifying variables such as pain and mobility.
However, according to Prof. de Jongh, standard questionnaires do not research or reflect the entire picture of how an individual is recovering from their traumatic injury. The ability of a patient to recover from a traumatic injury will also often depend on their need to pursue hobbies, continue working, or maintain the same lifestyle they were leading before their traumatic accident.
Prof. De Jo.
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