Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39960632›Full record

ArticleQuality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation2025

Recovery trajectories after a serious injury or illness: a longitudinal evaluation of health-related quality of life in an Australian cohort.

Clifford Afoakwah, Paul Kuwornu, Isaac Koomson, David Brain, Qing Xia, Steven McPhail, Kirsten Vallmuur

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Intergenerational associations between maternal health and offspring mental wellbeing: evidence from a nationally representative longitudinal study.Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Clifford AfoakwahAustralian Centre for Health Services Innovation, School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, QLD, Australia. Clifford.afoakwah@qut.edu.au.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8551-3651
Paul KuwornuAustralian Centre for Health Services Innovation, School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, QLD, Australia.
Isaac KoomsonCentre for the Business and Economics of Health, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD, Australia.
David BrainAustralian Centre for Health Services Innovation, School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, QLD, Australia.
Qing XiaAustralian Centre for Health Services Innovation, School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, QLD, Australia.
Steven McPhailAustralian Centre for Health Services Innovation, School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, QLD, Australia.
Kirsten VallmuurAustralian Centre for Health Services Innovation, School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, QLD, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeSerious injuries or illnesses impose a significant burden on the affected individuals. This study examined the long-term recovery of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) after a serious injury or illness and quantified the economic costs attributable to the quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) lost to serious injury or illness.

methodsData were sourced from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) database. The propensity score matching-difference-in-differences (PSM-DiD) method was used to explore the recovery of HRQoL over a six-year follow-up period. HRQoL was measured by the short-form six-dimension utility index, physical health, and mental health.

resultsWe found that those who suffered any serious injuries or illnesses had a decline of 0.020 in QALYs during the year of event, reducing further until a trough of 0.032 by the third year and thereafter began to recover. Further analyses revealed that although serious injuries or illnesses had a significantly greater loss in physical health, the loss in mental health persisted over a longer period. Finally, the economic cost associated with the lost in QALYs due to serious injuries or illnesses was estimated at $685 per person during the year of event and increased to a peak of $1,250 per person by the end of the third-year post-exposure.

conclusionOur findings highlight that follow-up care designed to mitigate the impacts of a serious injury or illness on people's HRQoL should consider cost-effective strategies that are long-lasting and support those affected throughout at least, the first three years of their injuries or illnesses.

Indexed as

Quality of LifeWounds and InjuriesAdolescentAdultAgedAustraliaFemaleHealth StatusHumansLongitudinal StudiesMaleMental HealthMiddle AgedQuality-Adjusted Life YearsYoung AdultMental healthQuality-adjusted life years, physical healthRecoverySerious injury or illness

Identifiers

PMID39960632
PMCPMC12119750

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.