Ashley Craig, Ph.D. and Rebecca Guest, Ph.D. (Editors)
John Walsh Centre for Rehabilitation Research, Kolling Institute of Medical Research, Northern Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, NSW, Australia

Series: Trauma and Recovery
BISAC: PSY007000

The World Health Organization recognizes that motor vehicle crashes and their impacts have become a serious public health crisis, with injury rates expected to escalate globally over the next 30 years. This is not surprising as adversity associated with the traumatic experience of a motor vehicle crash in which one could have died can be overwhelming. The risk of developing a major psychological disorder like depression and/or post-traumatic stress disorder is high, and distress will become substantially intensified if one also sustains physical injury, which can range from a mild injury such as soft tissue damage or concussion, to a severe injury such as spinal cord injury or severe traumatic brain injury. However, the degree of injury severity does not predict the degree of distress and adversity experienced very well.

Evidence also suggests that entering a compensation process as a result of injuries can add to the distress experienced. Adversity can include personal suffering (e.g., pain, disability, trauma), financial hardship (e.g., loss of income/employment), social isolation, relationship stress, and a possible extended involvement in an adversarial claims/medical process. Adversity after the Crash: The Physical, Psychological and Social Burden of Motor Vehicle Crashes is the first scholarly book for some time to address a broad range of issues arising from a motor vehicle crash, and the authors are all internationally recognised experts in their respective fields. The book contains four sections, in which topics like types of physical injuries most commonly suffered, epidemiology, economic outcomes, return to work, compensation factors, whiplash, mental health outcomes, pain management, as well as innovative interventions designed to decrease the burden associated with motor vehicle crashes are discussed. This book is a must-read for people involved in researching motor vehicle crash outcomes and recovery, as well as for those providing clinical services to people who have been involved in a motor vehicle crash. Survivors of a motor vehicle crash would also benefit from a clearer understanding of the dynamics involved in recovering from such a traumatic experience.