Psychological adjustment in young adults following traumatic injury and Major Trauma (MT)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Psychological adjustment in young adults to traumatic injury following Major Trauma (MT)
IRAS ID
332622
Contact name
Liam M Smith
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Leeds
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
N/A, N/A
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 1 months, 31 days
Research summary
Major Trauma (MT) describes serious and often multiple injuries that are life-threatening, with a high possibility of death or disability (National Audit Office, 2010). MT is the leading cause of death and disability in the UK, estimated to cost the NHS approximately £3.4-£3.7 billion annually (Moran, et al., 2018). Undoubtedly, this is a significant public health concern. Despite this, the care of patients experiencing MT has been deemed poor, requiring systematic improvements (NHS England, 2013).
Since the introduction of regionalized Trauma Networks (TN) in England in 2012 and the development of Major Trauma Centres (MTCs), improvements in survival rates and overall clinical care has been observed (Moran et al., 2018). MTCs in England are now resourced to provide specialist care to stabilise and treat the most severely injured patients until they are ready to progress along the care pathway (NHS England, 2013).
Survivors often live with life-changing injuries, yet the psychological and psycho-social impact of traumatic injury is under researched and undervalued in MT practice (Olive et al., 2022). Research exploring young adults’ experience of injury sustained following MT is particularly scarce, despite this population experiencing the highest rate of MT (Ogilvie et al, 2015).The current research aims to explore psychological adjustment to traumatic injury in young adults. This is a qualitative interview study to be conducted at Leeds MTC, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, England, as a doctoral research project. Participants will be young adults (aged 16-25) who have experienced MT, recruited locally from NHS outpatient clinics and nationally from the National Charity Day One Trauma Support (https://www.dayonetrauma.org/). This charity provide emotional and practical support for patients and families affected by MT. Interviews will last approximately 60-90 minutes and will be thematically analysed to extract key themes from the interviews.
REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
24/LO/0397
Date of REC Opinion
14 Jun 2024
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion