Illness representations in patients with traumatic injury: a longitudinal study

Area of Science:

• Medical and Health Sciences
• Psychology
• Nursing

Background:

• Traumatic injury is a leading cause of death and disability in individuals under 45.
• The Common Sense Model of Illness Representation (CSMIR) offers a framework for understanding patient adjustment to health changes.
• Illness representations are crucial for adapting to the consequences of traumatic injury.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the illness representations of patients experiencing traumatic injury.
• To determine how illness representations change over time following hospital discharge.

Main Methods:

• A longitudinal study design was employed.
• Data were collected from 114 participants at three time points: prior to discharge, and three and six months post-discharge.
• The Chinese Illness Perception Questionnaire Revised (IPQ-R) (Trauma) and a demographic/clinical data form were utilized.

Main Results:

• Six subscales of the Chinese IPQ-R (Trauma) demonstrated significant changes over time: identity, emotional representations, consequences, controllability, illness coherence, and causes.
• Two subscales, Timeline (acute/chronic) and Timeline Cyclical, did not show significant changes.
• The overall response rate was 79.7%.

Conclusions:

• Significant changes in illness representations suggest potential windows for timely nursing interventions.
• Understanding these evolving representations can inform the development of anticipatory guidance and targeted nursing strategies.
• These findings have direct implications for improving nursing practice and guiding future nursing research in traumatic injury care.