Impact of racial-ethnic minority status and systemic vulnerabilities on time to acute TBI rehabilitation admission in an urban public hospital setting

Model System:

TBI

Reference Type:

Journal article

Accession No.:

J80862

Journal:

Rehabilitation Psychology

Year, Volume, Issue, Page(s):

2019 , 64, 2, 229-236

Publication Website:

Abstract:

Study investigated whether race/ethnicity and other sociodemographic vulnerabilities impact the expediency of acute rehabilitation admission following traumatic brain injury (TBI). Data were obtained from 111 patients admitted for acute TBI rehabilitation at a large, urban TBI Model System hospital. Patient groups were defined by race/ethnicity (people of color versus white) and vulnerable group status (high versus low vulnerable group membership [VGM]). Analyses revealed that white patients are admitted to acute TBI rehabilitation significantly faster than people of color. After taking vulnerabilities into account, high-VGM people of color experience the most severe injuries and take the longest to receive acute TBI rehabilitation. Despite small differences in injury severity, low-VGM people of color take longer to be admitted to acute TBI rehabilitation than white patients. High-VGM white patients have less-severe injuries yet take longer to be admitted to acute rehabilitation than low-VGM white patients. Finally, notable differences exist between white patients and patients of color on rater-based injury severity scales that are discordant with severity as measured by more-objective markers. Overall, the findings indicate that sociodemographic factors including race/ethnicity and systemic vulnerabilities impact injury severity and time to acute TBI rehabilitation admission.

Author(s):