A - 04 Sociocultural and Health Equity Barriers Influencing Time to Clinic Following Sports-Related Concussion

Abstract

Abstract Objective Given the strong association between time to specialty concussion clinic and recovery, the purpose of this study was to examine sociocultural factors influencing time to clinic. Methods 1001 participants ages 8–18 (M = 14, SD = 2.2) with SRC were seen in a specialty concussion clinic. Groups were divided into early (within 7 days of injury) and delayed (8–20 days) to clinic. Sociocultural factors including race, insurance category of private vs. non-private (i.e., Medicaid and CHIP), and their intersectionality were examined to determine potential differences in access. Results There was a significant difference between insurance category X2(1) =41.37, p < 0.001 and days to clinic, 34.7% of those with non-private insurance compared to 15.7% with private insurance were in the delayed to clinic group. There was a significant difference in insurance category by race X2(6) =253.28, p < 0.001, with Hispanic (60.8%) and Black (50.3%) patients being more likely to have non-private insurance compared to just (9.4%) of White participants. There was a significant difference in days to clinic by race X2(6) =40.02, p < 0.001, with 34.8% of Hispanic and 25.9% of Black participants compared to 14.5% of White participants being in the delayed to clinic group. White males with private insurance on average got to clinic faster (M = 3.78, SD = 3.94) than minority females with non-private insurance (M = 9.04, 4.94). Conclusions Even though early access to a specialty concussion clinic is associated with faster recovery times, there are glaring disparities regarding health equity and whom is getting to clinic early. Further research is needed to help determine ways to minimize these barriers.