| This descriptive, longitudinal study, based on Nagi's theory of the disabling process, tested an explanatory model assessing the relative influence of biological, environmental, and behavioral/lifestyle risk factors on each other and on post-injury disability following non-central nervous system traumatic injury. A convenience sample of 109 consenting adults was recruited during admission to one of three accredited trauma centers. Subjects' injuries met one of the following criteria: operative intervention, intensive care admission, or a three day hospitalization. Exclusion criteria included: self-inflicted injuries, central nervous system injuries, active medical diagnosis of a major psychiatric syndrome unrelated to the current injury, discharge to prison, and inability to contact by telephone. Measures testing the exploratory model included the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP), the Impact of Event Scale (IES), the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ), the Abbreviated Injury Score (AIS), and the Injury Severity Score (ISS). Data were collected prior to hospital discharge and by follow-up telephone interviews scheduled twelve weeks post-discharge. The sample experienced a fairly severe level of injury (mean ISS of 15.5; mean of number of injuries 4.4). The trimmed explanatory model demonstrated that 67% of the variance in post-injury disability was accounted for by post-injury functional limitations (... |
