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Predicting Health Related Quality of Life in an Injured Pediatric Population
Methods: Children 0-16yrs with an injury diagnosis were identified in the BC Children’s Hospital. Surveys included demographic and diagnostic variables and the PedsQL and EQ-5D assessing HRQoL at four points: baseline, 1 month, 4-6 months and 12 months post injury. Parents also rated children's health on a visual analog scale (VAS) from 0-100. Generalized estimating equation models identified factors associated with changes in HRQoL over time.
Results: 371 baseline surveys were returned with response rates for followups of 79% (294), 67% (249) and 52% (193) at 1, 4 and 12 months respectively. The mean age of participants was 8.3 years and 30% were admitted to hospital. At baseline, a retrospective measure of pre-injury health, the mean VAS rating was 95.5. Mean VAS ratings at 1, 4 and 12 months post injury were 89.9, 92.4 and 93.3. Seventeen percent of parents reported that their child was still affected by the injury after 1 year.
Conclusions: Injured children recuperate quickly regardless of injury severity. These findings are important amidst ongoing debate regarding risky play, and the results of this research can be used to identify the small portion of children at high risk of experiencing a decline in their HRQoL resulting from injury. This can be used to inform post-injury care, ensuring families can access resources to facilitate recovery.
Learning Areas:
Public health or related researchLearning Objectives:
Discuss the impact of childhood injury on health related quality of life in the year following injury. Demonstrate that the majority of children recovery quickly regardless of injury severity and identify variables associated with long term impact on HRQoL for surveillance purposes.
Keyword(s): Child Health, Surveillance
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have developed my understanding of epidemiological and biostatistical methods through my masters and PhD. I have experience working in applied public health at the British Columbia Centre for Disease Control. Over the past 3 years I have focused my PhD work on measuring the impact of childhood injuries allowing me to combining my epidemiological and statistical skills with the knowledge gained through my clinical degree in physical therapy.
Any relevant financial relationships? No
I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.