Project Type
modular
Project Start Date
09/01/2021
Project End Date
08/31/2026

SCI imposes an enormous financial burden on the injured person and their family. There are substantial initial and ongoing healthcare costs as well as lifetime costs due to lost income, family caregiving demands, and the expense of critical services, such as home and transportation modifications, attendant care, prescriptions, and durable medical equipment. A combination of government-funded benefits and programs in the United States, intended to improve access to services and reduce poverty, provide formal assistance to people with disabilities through monetary support, healthcare, and subsidies for food, housing, transportation, and utilities. Although many people with SCI receive formal assistance after injury, apart from health insurance, little is known about how many people use government programs to manage the serious economic consequences of SCI and to meet the basic needs of community living.1 This information is critical for identifying areas of unmet needs and addressing the economic barriers to independent community living through improved public policy. People with disabilities also often draw upon informal assistance, defined as private monetary transfers and other tangible assistance from family, community groups, philanthropic organizations, and more recently crowdsourcing (i.e., raising money through online fundraising platforms).2–5 Several foundations dedicated to SCI6–8 also identify areas of need and mobilize resources to address the substantial out-of-pocket costs of injury. Although informal assistance may provide individual relief from medical costs and potential bankruptcy, these efforts do not address the root causes of unmet needs and highlight the shortcomings of current disability policy. The proposed project is designed to provide critical information about financial assistance use after injury and to make recommendations for future surveillance that can be used to inform public policy.