• Sarah Derrett, Suzanne Wilson, Ari Samaranayaka, John Langley, Emma Wyeth, Shanthi Ameratunga, Rebbecca Lilley, Gabrielle Davie, and Melbourne Mauiliu.
• Injury Prevention Research Unit, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand ; School of Health and Social Services, College of Health, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand.
• Plos One. 2013 Jan 1;8(11):e80194.

IntroductionMost studies investigating disability outcomes following injury have examined hospitalised patients. It is not known whether variables associated with disability outcomes are similar for injured people who are not hospitalised.AimsThis paper compares the prevalence of disability 24 months after injury for participants in the Prospective Outcomes of Injury Study who were hospitalised and those non-hospitalised, and also seeks to identify pre-injury and injury-related predictors of disability among hospitalised and non-hospitalised participants.MethodsParticipants, aged 18-64 years, were recruited from an injury claims register managed by New Zealand's no-fault injury compensation insurer after referral by health care professionals. A wide range of pre-injury socio-demographic, health and psychosocial characteristics were collected, as well as injury-related characteristics; outcome is assessed using the WHODAS. Multivariable models estimating relative risks of disability for hospitalised and non-hospitalised participants were developed using Poisson regression methods.ResultsOf 2856 participants, analyses were restricted to 2184 (76%) participants for whom both pre-injury and 24 month WHODAS data were available. Of these, 25% were hospitalised. In both hospitalised and non-hospitalised groups, 13% experience disability (WHODAS≥10) 24 months after injury; higher than pre-injury (5%). Of 28 predictor variables, seven independently placed injured participants in the hospitalised group at increased risk of disability 24 months after injury; eight in the non-hospitalised. Only four predictors (pre-injury disability, two or more pre-injury chronic conditions, pre-injury BMI≥30 and trouble accessing healthcare services) were common to both the hospitalised and non-hospitalised groups. There is some evidence to suggest that among the hospitalised group, Māori have higher risk of disability relative to non-Māori.ConclusionsAt 24 months considerable disability is borne, equally, by hospitalised and non-hospitalised groups. However, predictors of disability are not necessarily consistent between the hospitalised and non-hospitalised groups, suggesting caution in generalising results from one group to the other.

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