Temporal Trends of Functional Outcomes for People of Color and Whites With Traumatic Brain Injury

Abstract

Background:Functional independence represents a key outcome for individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI). The burden of TBI on people of color (POC) is evident when examining functional outcomes post-injury. Previous studies have described racial minority status as being associated with poorer functional outcomes. However, little is known about racial disparities related to the rehabilitation care and outcomes of individuals with traumatic brain injury.Methods:The study used data from the TBI Model Systems (TBIMS) National Database to assess 30-year trends of a total of 17,086 POC and Whites with traumatic brain injuries.Findings:Trends were noted in rehabilitation length of stay (p= 0.002), total Functional Independence Measures (p= 0.0588) and efficiency scores (p= 0.0843) between POC and White participants. Changing trends were not evident in discharge disposition (p= 0.221).Conclusion:Our findings show time-based changes in differences between POC when considering time spent in inpatient rehabilitation and degree of disability following TBI. This study reveals significant differences in length of stay between POC and White populations after weighting to account for age at injury and severity of injury. Prospectively, future research should consider the use of weighted analytic approaches to enable valid interpretation and implications of study findings.