Comparison of physical and psychological health outcomes for motorcyclists and other road users after land transport crashes: an inception cohort study

Sharwood, LN; Kifley, A; Craig, A; Gopinath, B; Jagnoor, J; Cameron, ID

Comparison of physical and psychological health outcomes for motorcyclists and other road users after land transport crashes: an inception cohort study

Sharwood, LN Kifley, A Craig, A Gopinath, B Jagnoor, J Cameron, ID

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Publisher:: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: BMC Public Health, 2021, 21, (1)
Issue Date:: 2021-12

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Sharwood, LN
dc.contributor.author	Kifley, A
dc.contributor.author	Craig, A
dc.contributor.author	Gopinath, B
dc.contributor.author	Jagnoor, J
dc.contributor.author	Cameron, ID
dc.date.accessioned	2022-01-21T04:26:23Z
dc.date.available	2022-01-21T04:26:23Z
dc.date.issued	2021-12
dc.identifier.citation	BMC Public Health, 2021, 21, (1)
dc.identifier.issn	1471-2458
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/153416
dc.description.abstract	<jats:title>Abstract</jats:title><jats:sec> <jats:title>Background</jats:title> <jats:p>Serious injuries and fatalities among vulnerable road users on two wheeled motorised vehicles have increased across Australia and internationally in the past decade yet fallen for motor vehicle occupants. Almost half of all reported motorcycle injury crashes cause serious injury or death, nearly double that of motor vehicle police-reported crashes. This study explores associations with sociodemographic and pre-injury health characteristics and health outcomes after a road traffic injury; aiming to compare motorcyclists with other road users and inform recovery care.</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Methods</jats:title> <jats:p>An inception cohort study recruited 1854 individuals aged <jats:underline>></jats:underline> 17 years, injured following land-transport crashes in New South Wales, Australia (July 2013–November 2016). Interviews conducted at baseline, 6-and 12-months post-injury elicited demographic, socioeconomic, and self-reported health conditions.</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Results</jats:title> <jats:p>Primary analysis involved 1854 participants who were recruited at baseline as three distinct road user groups; 628 (33.9%) motorcyclists, 927 (50%) vehicle occupants and 299 (16.1%) bicyclists. At baseline, injury patterns differed significantly between road user groups; motorcyclists were more than twice as likely to sustain lower extremity injury (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.001); to have more severe injury severity scores (<jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.001) and longer hospital stays versus vs vehicle occupants and bicyclists (< 0.001) across these measures. Injured motorcyclists were predominantly male (88.1%, <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.001), were younger on average (38 years) than bicyclists (41.5 years), had lower income and education levels, and poorer pre-injury physical health than other road user groups. Despite these differences, at 12 months post-injury motorcyclists had better physical health (SF12-PCS 2.07 (0.77, 3.36), <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> = 0.002) and reported lower pain scores (− 0.51 (− 0.83, − 0.2), <jats:italic>p</jats:italic> < 0.001) than vehicle occupants. Motorcyclists displayed less evidence of psychological distress than vehicle occupants, but more than bicyclists across several measures used.</jats:p> </jats:sec><jats:sec> <jats:title>Conclusions</jats:title> <jats:p>Road user types differ in important characteristics, including pre-injury health status and recovery after injury. As vulnerable road users experiencing transport crash and considering their higher initial injury severity, the degree of recovery among motorcyclists compared with other user types is remarkable and unexplained. Health and recovery outcomes after land-transport crashes is least favourable among vehicle occupants despite their higher levels of protection in a crash. This information is valuable for targeting early intervention strategies by road user type during the post-crash care phase, to improve long-term recovery.</jats:p> </jats:sec>
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Springer Science and Business Media LLC
dc.relation.ispartof	BMC Public Health
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1186/s12889-021-12003-0
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	1117 Public Health and Health Services
dc.subject.classification	Public Health
dc.title	Comparison of physical and psychological health outcomes for motorcyclists and other road users after land transport crashes: an inception cohort study
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	21
utslib.for	1117 Public Health and Health Services
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology/School of Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.date.updated	2022-01-21T04:26:22Z
pubs.issue	1
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	21
utslib.citation.issue	1

Abstract:

Abstract Background Serious injuries and fatalities among vulnerable road users on two wheeled motorised vehicles have increased across Australia and internationally in the past decade yet fallen for motor vehicle occupants. Almost half of all reported motorcycle injury crashes cause serious injury or death, nearly double that of motor vehicle police-reported crashes. This study explores associations with sociodemographic and pre-injury health characteristics and health outcomes after a road traffic injury; aiming to compare motorcyclists with other road users and inform recovery care. Methods An inception cohort study recruited 1854 individuals aged > 17 years, injured following land-transport crashes in New South Wales, Australia (July 2013–November 2016). Interviews conducted at baseline, 6-and 12-months post-injury elicited demographic, socioeconomic, and self-reported health conditions. Results Primary analysis involved 1854 participants who were recruited at baseline as three distinct road user groups; 628 (33.9%) motorcyclists, 927 (50%) vehicle occupants and 299 (16.1%) bicyclists. At baseline, injury patterns differed significantly between road user groups; motorcyclists were more than twice as likely to sustain lower extremity injury (p < 0.001); to have more severe injury severity scores (p < 0.001) and longer hospital stays versus vs vehicle occupants and bicyclists (< 0.001) across these measures. Injured motorcyclists were predominantly male (88.1%, p < 0.001), were younger on average (38 years) than bicyclists (41.5 years), had lower income and education levels, and poorer pre-injury physical health than other road user groups. Despite these differences, at 12 months post-injury motorcyclists had better physical health (SF12-PCS 2.07 (0.77, 3.36), p = 0.002) and reported lower pain scores (− 0.51 (− 0.83, − 0.2), p < 0.001) than vehicle occupants. Motorcyclists displayed less evidence of psychological distress than vehicle occupants, but more than bicyclists across several measures used. Conclusions Road user types differ in important characteristics, including pre-injury health status and recovery after injury. As vulnerable road users experiencing transport crash and considering their higher initial injury severity, the degree of recovery among motorcyclists compared with other user types is remarkable and unexplained. Health and recovery outcomes after land-transport crashes is least favourable among vehicle occupants despite their higher levels of protection in a crash. This information is valuable for targeting early intervention strategies by road user type during the post-crash care phase, to improve long-term recovery.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/153416