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Citation |
Duckworth MP, Iezzi T. Psychol. Inj. Law 2010; 3(3): 241-253. |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2010, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group) |
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DOI |
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PMID |
unavailable |
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Abstract |
Because physical injuries occur so frequently and are associated with significant mortality and morbidity, these injuries have been acknowledged as a worldwide public health concern. While the greatest cost associated with physical injury is the loss of life, non-fatal injuries are associated with significant personal and societal costs. Traditionally, examinations of the personal costs of physical injuries have emphasized functional losses and limitations, in addition to resulting losses in work productivity and income earning power. Efforts to capture the societal costs associated with physical injury have emphasized medical expenditures related to their treatment as well as costs related to lost work performance and disability compensation. Less emphasized but possibly more relevant to post-injury functional outcomes is the experience of psychological distress that frequently accompanies injury-related changes in function and overall quality of life. Any calculation of the true cost of physical injuries must include a reckoning of their impact on psychological health and the interactive influence of physical and psychological injuries on immediate and long-term recovery of function. In the current article, we briefly summarize data pertaining to the prevalence and cost of physical injuries; we briefly describe the more common consequences of physical injury, including injury-related limitations in physical function, pain and pain-related limitations in physical function, occupational impairment, psychological distress, and impairment in interpersonal relating; we review select theoretical models that are considered to explain the transition from physical injury to disabilities and we identify the pre-, peri-, and post-injury influence of physical and psychological health on injury management, recovery of function, risk of re-injury, and disability. |