Incidence and outcomes of major trauma in New Zealand: findings from a feasibility study of New Zealand s first national trauma registry
Karol J Czuba, Paula Kersten, David Anstiss, Nicola M Kayes, Belinda J Gabbe, Ian Civil, Bridget Kool, Gareth Terry, Greta A Smith, Mahesweran Rohan, Alain C Vandal, Richard J Siegert
This paper aims to characterise the New Zealand major trauma (significant injury) population in terms of long-term disability and functional outcomes a\u00acfter major trauma. Our findings suggest that at 12 months post-injury the majority of participants in this study had made a good recovery in terms of disability, living situation and health. A sizeable group of survivors were still experiencing pain and problems with their usual activities 12 months post-injury, which suggests that not all major trauma survivors will follow the same trajectory of recovery. We found that approximately two-thirds of all injuries were traffic-related, while falls accounted for approximately a quarter of the injuries. The findings suggest that trauma registries are ideally placed to monitor long-term outcomes of trauma survivors, and can play an important role in reducing the impact of burden associated with major trauma.
