Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 18, 2026
Polar Histogram Visualization of Acute Stress Disorder Scale Scores for Comprehensive Clinical Assessment
Published on: December 6, 2024
A prospective study on paediatric traffic injuries: health-related quality of life and post-traumatic stress
Leontien M Sturms1, Corry K van der Sluis, Roy E Stewart
1Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University Hospital Groningen, The Netherlands.
Insights
Paediatric traffic injuries can temporarily impact children's health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Both children and parents may experience significant post-traumatic stress symptoms following these events.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric trauma
- Quality of Life Research
- Psychotraumatology
Background:
- Pediatric traffic injuries are a significant cause of morbidity.
- Understanding the long-term impact on children's well-being is crucial.
- Parental mental health can be affected by child injury.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children post-traffic injury.
- To investigate the prevalence of post-traumatic stress in children and parents.
- To identify risk factors for adverse outcomes in pediatric traffic injury survivors.
Main Methods:
- Prospective cohort study of 51 children (aged 8-15) with traffic injuries.
- Utilized the TNO-AZL Children's Quality of Life questionnaire and Impact of Event Scale.
- Data collected at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months post-injury.
Main Results:
- Temporary declines in children's motor functioning and autonomy were noted.
- At 3 months, 12% of children and 16% of parents reported severe post-traumatic stress.
- Hospitalization, head injury, and accident severity were linked to increased stress.
Conclusions:
- Children's HRQoL impairments were largely short-lived.
- Post-traumatic stress is a common outcome for both children and parents after traffic injuries.
- Parental stress is associated with socioeconomic status and injury severity.
Objectives:
To examine children's reports of their health-related quality of life (HRQoL) following paediatric traffic injury, to explore child and parental post-traumatic stress, and to identify children and parents with adverse outcomes.
Design:
Prospective cohort study.
Assessments:
shortly after the injury, three months and six months post injury.
Setting:
Department of Traumatology, University Hospital.
Subjects:
Fifty-one young traffic injury victims aged 8-15 years.
Main Measures:
TNO-AZL Children's Quality of Life questionnaire and the Impact of Event Scale.
Results:
Short-term adverse changes in the child's HRQoL were observed for the child's motor functioning and autonomy. At three months, 12% of the children and 16% of the parents reported serious post-traumatic stress symptoms. Increased stress at three months, or across follow-up, was observed among hospitalized children, children with head injuries, and children injured in a motor vehicle accident. Parental stress was related to low socioeconomic status and the seriousness of the child's injury and accident (hospitalization, head injury, serious injury, motor vehicle involved, others injured).
Conclusions:
The children reported only temporary effects in their motor functioning and autonomy. Post-traumatic stress symptoms following paediatric traffic injury were not only experienced by the children, but also by their parents.