Authors

  1. Carlos Arango, Juan PhD
  2. Rosenthal, Mitchell PhD
  3. DeLuca, John PhD
  4. Cifu, David MD
  5. Hanks, Robin PhD
  6. Sherer, Mark PhD

Article Content

Objective: To examine the relationship between ethnicity and functional outcome in traumatic brain injury (TBI) survivors. Design: Retrospective study. Setting: Data were extracted from the longitudinal data set of the TBI Model Systems National Database. Participants: Four thousand three hundred twenty-nine individuals with moderate to severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) (2798 Caucasians vs 1531 Minorities) were hospitalized between 1989 and 2003. Main outcome measures: Functional outcomes at 1-year follow-up (DRS, FIM, GOS-E, and CIQ). Results: Demographic factors generally tended to be similar across groups, with some notable differences. Upon admission, minorities were twice as likely to be unemployed, were less educated, had more service-oriented jobs, and earned less money (P <= .001). Etiology of injury in minorities was almost 4 times more likely to involve an act of violence relative to Caucasians (P <= .001). The minority group received fewer minutes of physical, occupational, and speech therapy (P <= .05). Race was associated with poorer functional outcomes (Disability Rating Scale, Glasgow Outcome Scale-Extended, and Community Integration Questionnaire), even when controlling age, length of Post Traumatic Amnesia, Glasgow Coma Scale at acute admission, and preinjury educational level (P <= .001). Conclusions: Minorities showed significantly reduced long-term functional outcome after rehabilitation relative to Caucasians. It is imperative that rehabilitation professionals work to improve the functional outcome of minorities with TBI.