Socioeconomic Factors and Pediatric Injury.

Abstract

The goal of this review is to describe how socioeconomic status (SES) is evaluated in the pediatric trauma literature and further consider how differences in SES can lead to inequities in pediatric injury. Insurance status, area-level income, and indices of socioeconomic deprivation are the most common assessments of socioeconomic status. Children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds experience higher rates of firearm-related injuries, motor vehicle-related injuries, and violence-related injuries, contributing to inequities in morbidity and mortality after pediatric injury. Differences in SES may also lead to inequities in post-injury care and recovery, with higher rates of readmission, recidivism, and PTSD for children from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds. Additional research looking at family-level measures of SES and more granular measures of neighborhood deprivation are needed. SES can serve as an upstream target for interventions to reduce pediatric injury and narrow the equity gap.