Is state trauma funding associated with mortality among injured hospitalized patients?

Abstract

BackgroundWe sought to quantify the association between state trauma funding and (1) in-hospital mortality and (2) transfers of injured patients. MethodsWe conducted an observational cross-sectional study of states with publicly available trauma funding data. We analyzed in-hospital mortality using linked data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS), American Hospital Association (AHA) Annual Survey, and these State Department of Public Health trauma funding data. ResultsA total of 594,797 injured adult patients were admitted to acute care hospitals in 17 states. Patients in states with >$1.00 per capita state trauma funding had 0.82 (95 ​% CI: 0.78–0.85, p ​< ​0.001) decreased adjusted odds of in-hospital mortality compared to patients in states with less than $1.00 per capita state trauma funding. ConclusionsIncreased state trauma funding is associated with decreased adjusted in-hospital mortality.