Psychological symptoms in rural road trauma victims

There is limited research into the psychological aftermath for people who have experienced road accidents, especially outside major cities. This study by postal survey used the General Health Questionnaire-28, the Impact of Events Scale, the Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Interview, and the Late Effects of Accidental Injury Questionnaire to assess the psychological effects on a sample of 80 people who had attended a hospital in a regional Australian centre following road accidents. Results showed that there were marked effects on many people and that these had not always been diagnosed or treated.