Citation

Pierce BS, Perrin PB, Pugh M, Cariello AN, Henry RS, Sutter ME, Wiechman SA, Schneider JC. Am. J. Phys. Med. Rehabil. 2019; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, Lippincott Williams and Wilkins)

DOI

10.1097/PHM.0000000000001378

PMID

31876543

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to examine potential racial/ethnic disparities in community integration over the 2 years following burn injury.

DESIGN: A sample of 1,773 adults with burn injury from the Burn Model Systems (BMS) database was utilized with data on community integration collected at discharge (pre-injury recall), 6, 12, and 24 months post-discharge.

METHODS: Four sets of hierarchal linear models (HLM) determined the most appropriate model for understanding racial/ethnic differences in CIQ trajectories over time.

RESULTS: Data indicated a decrease in community integration between discharge and 6 months, a slight increase between 6 months and 1 year, then a plateau between 1 and 2 years. White individuals had higher community integration score trajectories over time than Black (b =.53, p <.001) and Hispanic (b =.58, p <.001) individuals, and community integration scores were similar between Black and Hispanic individuals (b = -.05, p =.788). These racial/ethnic disparities remained after accounting for age, gender, total burned surface area, number of days in rehabilitation, and active range of motion deficits.

CONCLUSIONS: Additional rehabilitation resources should be targeted to helping Black and Hispanic individuals integrate back into their communities after burn injury.What is known: Prior literature documents racial/ethnic disparities in burn rates, burn outcomes, and community integration in other injury populations. What is new: In a sample of 1,773 adults receiving treatment for burns in one of six major metropolitan hospitals, the current study found that White individuals had higher community integration score trajectories over time than Black and Hispanic individuals, and that community integrations scores were similar between Black and Hispanic individuals. These disparities remained even after accounting for demographics. The findings suggest that additional rehabilitation resources should be targeted to helping Black and Hispanic individuals integrate back into their communities after burn injury.

Language: en