Social Determinants of Health and TBI

Social determinants of health (SDoH) are highly associated with health outcomes but have received little attention in studies of the long-term effects of TBI. SDoH introduce risk factors that vary at the individual level (e.g., the person’s socioeconomic position, race/ethnicity, or social support), as well as environmental level (e.g., their community’s socioeconomic resources, housing, public safety, or the quality and availability of health and social services). This study aims to investigate the effect of social vulnerabilities due to SDoH on outcomes from TBI. This is sequential explanatory mixed methods design will first quantitatively determine the most associated domains of SDoH affecting outcome using the TBIMS National Dataset. Then, the qualitative phase will involve interviews with 100 ORTBIMS participants who are most at risk to be affected by SDoH. From these interviews, we will analyze how SDoH impacts recovery and outcomes from TBI, as well as identify barriers and facilitators of recovery.