Employment and circumstances at home determine how motivated young men are in rehabilitation after a brain trauma, the biennial Australia and New Zealand rehabilitation conference heard in Queenstown this week.
Conference organiser Duncan Reid, a former Olympic Games physiotherapist, said young men were most often the risk-takers in recreational activities and were also more likely to drive a car after consuming alcohol, leading to more cases of brain trauma and rehabilitation than among other groups of people.
"ACC has a major priority to ensure anyone who suffers an accident goes back into meaningful employment. A significant amount of ACC's costs per year are earnings-related compensation," Dr Reid told those attending the conference.
"If someone has a traumatic brain injury as a result of a recreational activity or car accident, then their costs of rehabilitation are covered by ACC under the law.
"But there is the dilemma. If that person was not employed prior to the accident, it makes it difficult to set a goal that means they can contribute meaningfully to society."
Dr Reid said a young person's life expectancy was unchanged if they survived a traumatic accident.
The cost of rehabilitation for a severely injured person was about $1 million, including stabilisation in intensive care after the injury and ongoing care, including an attendant in the home.
Between 19,000 and 26,000 New Zealanders per year will have had some form of medical attention for a brain trauma.
Specialists believed there were many more who did not consult a doctor.
Increasing costs and less than satisfactory rehabilitation outcomes were unsustainable and could not carry on, conference delegates were told.
Rising costs providing treatment and rehabilitation were five times greater than cost of living increases.
Dr Samir Anwar and Dr Reid called on the Government to end rehabilitation's reputation as the "Cinderella of medicine" by looking at the way it funds rehabilitation.
"People who suffer injuries are covered by ACC, which is not funded to care for people who suffer strokes or other medical conditions," Dr Reid pointed out.
