We are pleased to announce that the respected British Medical Journal (BMJ) Open has published a research article on psychological outcomes following violent injuries based on Dr Emmylou Rahtz‘s PhD thesis, which was funded by Saving Faces – The Facial Surgery Research Foundation.
People who experience physical trauma face a range of psychological outcomes including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, problems adjusting to changed appearance and poor quality of life. Unfortunately, these may be overlooked by busy clinical staff. While some risk factors are known, the understanding of the psychological effects of violent injury remains limited, particularly in UK settings.
Emmylou’s research has identified that violent injury was a significant risk factor for the persistence of post-traumatic stress and depressive symptoms in patients admitted to a large teaching hospital in London. What Emmylou found suggests that violent injury patients would benefit from early psychological support, and hospital admission provides a unique opportunity to engage hard-to-reach groups in interventions.
A massive congratulations to Emmylou from all at Saving Faces. Click here to read the full paper.