Quality of life and ability to work after severe trauma (LeAf Trauma)

Every year, around 30,000 people in Germany suffer a serious accident. Their acute treatment is very well recorded by the TraumaRegister DGU, but after discharge there are often severe and protracted consequences that impair quality of life and make it difficult to return to a normal life, including resuming appointments.

In a retrospective study with data from health insurance companies and a prospective follow-up study of more than 1,000 severely injured patients, factors that hinder or promote the return to a "normal" life are to be determined. In addition to many special aspects, the quality of life is also recorded using the trauma-specific TOP (Trauma Outcome Profile) scale. This was developed and validated at the Institute for Research in Operative Medicine (IFOM) at the UW/H. The study covers a period of up to 18 months after the accident.