Improving recovery - Learning from patients’ experiences after injury: A qualitative study

Objectives: To explore experiences of patients after injury and identify implications for clinical care and support within the hospital setting and primary care. Design: Semi-structured telephone administered qualitative interviews with purposive sampling and thematic qualitative analysis. Participants: Patients who have experienced an unintentional injury and attended hospital. Setting: Bristol, Surrey and Swansea. Results: Key issues that emerged were: most patients reported mixed experiences of hospital care but some described the delivery of care as depersonalising; the need for clinicians to provide adequate, timely and realistic information to patients about their injury and treatment to inform their expectations of recovery; the impact of pain at the time of the injury and for an extended period afterwards; the experience of injury on patients’ emotional state with possible implications for longer term mental health issues; the pivotal role of physiotherapy care in providing practical and individualised strategies for recovery; and the importance of social support for recovery. Conclusions: Trauma patients’ recovery needs to be supported by information protocols. The social circumstances of patients need to be considered at the point of discharge and during recovery. There is a need to identify people who may be experiencing mental health issues for timely referral to assessment services and appropriate care. Signposting to support groups may also be helpful for those with life changing injuries. Improved pain management would help alleviate discomfort and stress. Physiotherapy has a key role to play in supporting patients in recovery.