Psychological Distress in Relatives of Severely Injured Patients

Background The incidence of polytrauma has been estimated to range between 25 and 52 per 100'000 in Europe. Severely injured patients are known to suffer increased psychological distress and early identification of these patients can help to provide resources and support for coping strategies. The long-term physical and mental health of such polytrauma survivors can be improved by the presence of a supporting network including patients support groups, social support networking, and - most important - family and friends.

While it has been shown that caring for a family member with chronic disease like cancer or disability after isolated traumatic brain injury or a stroke is associated with significant distress for relatives, little is known on how families function and cope after one of them has had an accident with multiple severe injuries.

Rationale for the research project Patients who have sustained and survived a polytrauma do heavily depend on the support and functioning of their family. This is only possible if the family members are physically and mentally able to cope with the situation.

It is the study's hypothesis that the true percentage of polytrauma patients' relatives suffering under relevant psychological distress is higher than commonly assumed. It is the investigators' strong opinion that it would be important to identify these individuals early (e.g. by a screening test as the one developed in this study) in order to help the helpers.

Objectives