Health-related quality of life and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in accident and emergency attenders suffering from psychosocial crises: a longitudinal study

AIMS This paper is a report of a study of health-related quality of life and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms in patients attending an Accident and Emergency department because of psychosocial crises. BACKGROUND Psychosocial crises are commonplace globally, but there is little knowledge about patients attending Accident and Emergency departments because of psychosocial crises. METHODS Data were collected at an Accident and Emergency department in Norway from September 2008 to June 2009. A total of 99 adults participated in the baseline study and 41 of these participated at 2 months follow-up. The Short Form-36 Health Survey and the Post Traumatic Symptom Scale were used to obtain data. FINDINGS Participants reported significantly lower scores in all health-related quality of life domains at baseline compared with the general Norwegian population. The mental health score was two standard deviations below the norm. Health-related quality of life scores were improved and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms were reduced after 2 months. High levels of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms were reported by 78% of the participants at baseline and 59% at follow-up. Participants with high levels of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms at follow-up also reported low health-related quality of life scores. CONCLUSION This study suggests a need for an acute psychosocial intervention and an opportunity to receive follow-up support at Accident and Emergency departments.