Polytrauma and life care planning: managing the complex interaction of multiple injuries.
Military personnel, who have sustained multiple injuries, or polytrauma, are returning home with a novel set of challenging injuries and disabilities. These emerging injury patterns require specialized rehabilitation and continual coordination of care. One technique to assess the current and future disability-related needs of an individual who sustains polytrauma is life care planning. The life care plan (LCP) is a dynamic document based upon published standards of practice, comprehensive assessments, data analysis, and research. The purpose of this article is to introduce the life care plan as an established and successful approach for meeting the complex and comprehensive needs of individuals with polytrauma. Additionally this article includes multiple case examples to help illustrate the applicability of life care planning.
Pomeranz
Jamie L
JL
University of Florida Gainesville, Department of Behavioral Science and Community Health, Rehabilitation Counseling Program, Gainesville, Florida 32610-0175, USA. pomeranz@phlp.ufl.edu
Shaw
Linda R
LR
Yu
Nami S
NS
Moorhouse
Michael D
MD
D000328:Adult; D006801:Humans; D008889:Military Personnel; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy*; D010347:Patient Care Planning / Q000458:organization & administration*; D016730:Program Development; D055815:Young Adult