Medical, dental, and optical care utilization among community-living people with spinal cord injury in the United States

Model System:

SCI

Reference Type:

Journal article

Accession No.:

J90153

Journal:

Journal of Spinal Cord Medicine - JSCM (formerly Journal of the American Paraplegia Society)

Year, Volume, Issue, Page(s):

2022 , , ,

Publication Website:

Abstract:

Study investigated healthcare utilization among community-dwelling people with spinal cord injury (SCI) and assessed disparities across demographic, socioeconomic, and injury-related subgroups. Telephone interviews were conducted with 617 adults with chronic, traumatic SCI who were living in the community for at least one year after the completion of an inpatient rehabilitation program across 6 SCI Model Systems centers in the United States. Utilization of 4 types of health care in the past 12 months were assessed: primary, SCI, dental, and optical. Eighty-four percent of participants reported utilizing primary care in the past year. More than half reported utilizing SCI (54 percent) and dental (57 percent) care, and 36 percent reported utilizing optical care. There were no significant differences across key subgroups in the utilization of primary care. Participants who had been injured for 5 years or less and participants with greater educational attainment were more likely to report utilizing SCI care. Participants with higher household income levels were more likely to report using dental care. Female participants and older age groups were more likely to report using optical care. The findings suggest that rates of healthcare utilization among people with SCI are below recommended rates and vary across demographic, socioeconomic, and injury-related subgroups. This information can inform future research to target barriers to using healthcare services among community-living people with SCI.

Author(s):