Objective

Exploring the evolution of coping and adaptation strategies by 11 cases of adults who had suffered traffic accident-related musculoskeletal trauma during their stay in hospital at Clínica Universidad de la Sabana during 2015.

Methods

Studying the aforementioned cases enabled describing and comparing the 11 patients’ coping and adaptation strategies. The abridged Spanish version of Roy’s Coping Adaptation Processing Scale (CAPS) was used for measuring such strategies; it was used on patient admission to and discharge from hospital. This research took the relevant ethical principles into account; the patients gave their written informed consent and the Universidad de la Sabana and its hospital where the study was carried out authorised the study (i.e. the Faculty of Nursing and Rehabilitation’s Research Subcommittee).

Results

This study’s findings showed that eight of the eleven cases maintained a high coping ability, or improved from moderate (on admission to hospital) to high level ability (on discharge).

Conclusion

Problem-centred coping and adaptation strategies were involved in most cases. Patients approached this through resolving situation-related questions before acting, using past experiences considered useful, adopting new skills to cope with difficult situations and using alternative solutions and resources.

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