INCREASED HEALTH-CARE UTILIZATION AS A FUNCTION OF PARTICIPATION IN TRAUMA RESEARCH

Objective: This study was designed to compare, in a primary care setti ng, the health care utilization of women who participated In a trauma research study with the health care utilization of women who did not. Method: Health care utilization in the 12 months before and the 12 mon ths after participation in trauma research was determined for both par ticipants (N=116) and a group Of control subjects (N=100) matched for day of service. Results: Pairwise t test results indicated that for th e women who participated in the research, all measures of health care utilization significantly increased in the 12 months after the trauma study; for the control subjects, only the number of ongoing prescripti ons significantly increased. Sign tests confirmed that a significantly greater number of research Participants demonstrated a positive diffe rence (increase in utilization) for all health care variables, whereas only ongoing prescriptions demonstrated a significant systematic incr ease among control subjects. Conclusions: The findings suggest that pa rticipation in trauma research may increase subsequent health care uti lization.