Outcomes of trauma care

What is it about?

Many trauma survivors face challenges of impaired functioning, limited activ­ities and reduced participation. Recovery from injury after acute care, therefore, becomes an important public health issue. This commentary discusses a frame­work for evaluating outcomes of acute care.

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Why is it important?

In our view, classifying disability outcomes and recovery ­process outcomes in relation to the intended results of interventions creates a powerful tool for research in trauma care. First, such classifcation complements the concept of disability as a decrement in health,5 forming a basis for understanding the effectiveness of trauma care in restoring health. Second, it places the outcomes of multiple interven­tions within the dimensions of achieved recovery and sus­tained health after trauma. Third, the classifcation forms a basis for studying disability outcomes as predictors of sub­sequent interventions (e.g., readmission resulting from adverse events caused by treatment). Fourth, it advances the standardization of outcome measurement, forming a basis for comparing fndings across studies and sites. Finally, the classifcation provides criteria for appraising the literature on outcomes of trauma care.