86 Impact of Community-Level Socioeconomic Disparities on Quality of Life After Burn Injury: A Burn Model Systems Database Study

Abstract

Abstract Introduction Individual- and community-level socioeconomic disparities impact overall health and injury incidence, severity, and outcomes. However, the impact of community-level socioeconomic disparities on recovery after burn injury is unknown. We aimed to characterize the association between community-level socioeconomic disparities and health-related quality of life (HRQL) after burn injury. These findings might inform rehabilitation service delivery and policy making at administrative levels. Methods Participants with the NIDILRR Burn Model System who were ≥14 years with a zip code were included. Sociodemographic and injury characteristics and 12-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12) and Veterans RAND (VR-12) physical (PCS) and mental (MCS) component summary scores 6 months after injury were extracted. Data were deterministically linked by zip code to the Distressed Communities Index (DCI), which combines seven census-derived metrics into a single indicator of economic well-being that ranges from 0 (lowest distress) to 100 (highest distress). Multilevel linear regression models estimated the association between DCI and HRQL. Results The 342 participants were mostly male (239, 69%) had a median age of 48 years (IQR 33–57) and sustained a median burn size of 10% TBSA (IQR 3–28%). More than one-third of participants (117, 34%) lived in a neighborhood within the two most distressed quintiles. After adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, and pre-injury HRQL, increasing neighborhood distress was negatively associated with PCS (ß-0.05, SE 0.02, p=0.01). Age and pre-injury PCS were also significantly associated with 6-month PCS. There was no association between neighborhood distress and 6-month MCS. However, pre-injury MCS was significantly associated with 6-month MCS (0.56, SE 0.07, p< 0.001). Conclusions Neighborhood distress is associated with lower PCS after burn injury but is not associated with MCS. Regardless of neighborhood distress, pre-injury HRQL is significantly associated with both PCS and MCS during recovery.