Citation

Odoom E, Garbern SC, Tang OY, Marqués CG, Beeman A, Uwamahoro D, Stephen AH, Uwamahoro C, Aluisio AR. Trauma care (Basel) 2022; 2(3): 434-444.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publications Institute)

DOI

10.3390/traumacare2030036

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Despite high injury-related morbidity, approaches for evaluating post-injury functional status after emergency care are poorly characterized in resource-limited settings. This study evaluated the feasibility of standardized disability assessments among patients presenting with significant trauma to the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Kigali ED in Rwanda from January-June 2020. The functional status at 28-days post-injury was assessed using the World Health Organization Disability Assessment Schedule 2.0 (WHODAS-2), the Katz Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Scale, and self-reported functional state. The primary outcome was a descriptive profile of the disability status at 28-days post-injury. The WHODAS 2.0, Katz ADL Scale and patients' self-perceived functional status was compared using Kendall's rank correlation coefficient. Twenty-four patients were included. The most common injury mechanism was road traffic accident (70.8%); 58.3% of patients had traumatic brain injury. The self-perception questionnaire and the Katz ADL scale were strongly correlated with the WHODAS 2.0 scale; however, self-perception was not well correlated with the ADL scale. Post-injury morbidity was high and morbidity assessment was feasible, with a strong correlation between patients' self-perceived functional status and the WHODAS-2 scale. Structured post-injury assessments may serve to inform the development of rehabilitation services in Rwanda, although larger studies are needed to inform such initiatives.

Language: en

Keywords

disability; emergency care; global health; injury care; low- and middle-income countries; Rwanda; trauma