Advancing Care Through Injury Outcome Navigators

Intervention On enrolment into the study the enrolled patient and/or carer/significant other will receive the Trauma Patient Navigator (TPN) model of care intervention. Trauma patient navigation will incorporate a range of duties which will vary in composition dependent upon the patient/significant other health needs and requirements. Examples include (but are not limited to): early inpatient engagement with patients/families, communication and coordination with hospital staff and post discharge service providers including primary care, identification and knowledge of existing care pathways and their capabilities, integration of documentation with the patient electronic medical record, provision of up-to-date information and resources for patients and carers, undertaking needs assessments, and provision of education and psychosocial support. The primary outcome measure of effectiveness will be the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) item of the EQ-5D-5L, EQ-5D-Y-5L and EQ-TIPS (EQ VAS and EQ-5D) quality of life instrument measured at three different timepoints: i. Baseline (self-reported pre-injury) ii. On discharge from acute care at the major trauma centre iii. At 6-months from the date of enrolment. Who delivers it and their relevant expertise A Trauma Patient Navigator will be employed at each of the individual trauma centre/health service (n=8). A generic role description for a Trauma Patient Navigator has been informed and developed by previous research undertaken by the study team prior to the commencement of the stepped-wedge RCT. The Principal Investigator at each site (trauma centre) will be provided with the generic Trauma Patient Navigator role description prior to commencement of the SW-RCT. Individual health services/trauma centre/PI will be responsible for the provision of training and education required by the Trauma Patient Navigator; duration and frequency of training will therefore vary and be aligned with the individual health service requirements. How it is delivered (e.g. face to face, online, group, individual) Trauma patient navigation will incorporate a range of duties which will vary in composition dependent upon the patient/significant other health needs and requirements. As such, it is anticipated delivery of the Trauma Patient Navigator model of care will encompass a range of modalities including face to face, phone, online. How often and for how long (e.g. 8 x 1 hour sessions over 8 weeks) The level of engagement of participants with the Trauma Patient Navigator model of care will be dependent upon the patient/significant other health needs and requirements. However, primary outcome data will be collected at 3 distinct timepoints - on enrolment into the study, on discharge from acute care and at 6-months post enrolment. Each participant will received the Trauma Patient Navigator model of care for 6-months post enrolment. Where it is delivered (e.g. clinic, participant's home, school) The Trauma Patient Navigator model of care will commence during the participants index admission and continue for 6-months. The model of care will cover the transition period from acute care to home. As such the model of care will cover a range of environments including acute care, clinic, participants home. Adherence (e.g. reminders, monitoring) A parallel Process Evaluation will occur to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the Trauma Patient Navigator Intervention. Routine Trauma Patient Navigator activity data will be collected to quantify the nature and intensity of the intervention.