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Long-term outcomes of seriously injured children: a study using the Child Health Questionnaire
Tamzyn M Davey1, Leanne M Aitken, Desley Kassulke
1Centre of National Research on Disability and Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Queensland, Mayne Medical School, Queensland, Australia.
Insights
Injured children experience significantly lower health-related quality of life (HRQoL) compared to their peers, persisting for up to two years post-injury. Further research is needed to identify factors impacting HRQoL in pediatric injury survivors.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric trauma research
- Public health
- Child health outcomes
Background:
- Assessing health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children post-injury is crucial for understanding long-term impacts.
- Previous studies highlight the need for comprehensive data on pediatric injury recovery.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children aged 1-2 years after sustaining an injury.
- To compare the HRQoL of injured children with Australian population norms.
Main Methods:
- Parents of injured children admitted to two Brisbane pediatric hospitals were invited to participate.
- The Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ) was used to collect HRQoL data from parents.
- CHQ scores were statistically compared against Australian population norms.
Main Results:
- 241 completed questionnaires were returned, with a majority of male participants and even age distribution.
- Most injuries were minor (81%), primarily from falls and cycling accidents, resulting in fractures and intracranial injuries.
- Study participants scored significantly lower on most CHQ subscales compared to Australian norms.
Conclusions:
- Injured children demonstrate a diminished HRQoL compared to their Australian peers, even up to two years post-injury.
- Current data from the Queensland Trauma Registry did not identify predictive variables for lower HRQoL in hospitalized children (>24h).
- Further investigation is required to identify factors predicting lower HRQoL and mitigate the burden of injury on children and families.
Objective:
To assess the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in children 1-2 years after they had sustained an injury.
Methods:
Parents of all children who were identified by the Queensland Trauma Registry during their admission to either of the two paediatric specialty hospitals in Brisbane, Australia, for the treatment of an injury, were invited to participate in this study. Parents who consented to participation received a copy of the Child Health Questionnaire (CHQ) that required them to provide information regarding their child's HRQoL following injury. The CHQ scores for the study respondents were compared with those of the Australian norms. This study was approved by the relevant ethics committees.
Results:
Two hundred and forty-one completed questionnaires were returned. The majority of cases were male (65%) and there was even representation across all age groups. The majority of injuries were considered to be minor (81%) and were predominantly the result of falls and cycling accidents causing mainly fractures and intracranial injury. On the majority of subscales of the CHQ, study participants recorded scores that were statistically significantly below those of the Australian norms. None of the relevant variables collected by the Queensland Trauma Registry were found to predict scores on the CHQ in this study (for those children hospitalized for > 24 h).
Conclusion:
Injured children are worse off than their Australian counterparts in terms of HRQoL even up to 2 years following an injury. Further research needs to be undertaken to identify factors that predict lower HRQoL in order to reduce the burden of injury on children and their families.
