title: Longitudinal analysis of hospitalization after spinal cord injury: variation based on race and ethnicity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the longitudinal effects of race/ethnicity on hospitalization among adults with spinal cord injury (SCI) in the 10-year period after initial injury.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective analysis of postinjury hospitalizations among non-Hispanic white, non-Hispanic African American, and Hispanic adults with SCI.
  
  
  METHODS
  Community. Data were extracted from the 2011 National Spinal Cord Injury Model Systems database.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients with traumatic SCI (N= 5146; white, 3175; African American, 1396; Hispanic, 575) who received rehabilitation at one of the relevant SCI Model Systems.
  
  
  METHODS
  Not applicable.
  
  
  METHODS
  Hospitalization, including rate of hospitalization, number of hospitalizations, and number of days hospitalized during the 12 months before the first-, fifth-, and tenth-year follow-up interviews for the SCI Model Systems.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Significant differences were found in rates of hospitalization at 1 and 5 years postinjury, with participants from Hispanic backgrounds reporting lower rates than either whites or African Americans. At 10 years postinjury, no differences were noted in the rate of hospitalization between racial/ethnic groups; however, compared with whites (P=.011) and Hispanics (P=.051), African Americans with SCI had 13 and 16 more days of hospitalization, respectively. Compared with the first year postinjury, the rate of hospitalization declined over time among whites, African Americans, and Hispanics; however, for African Americans, the number of days hospitalized increased by 12 days (P=.036) at 10 years versus 5 years postinjury.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Racial/ethnic variation appears to exist in postinjury hospitalization for individuals with SCI, with Hispanics showing the lowest rates of hospitalization at 1 and 5 years postinjury and African Americans having a significantly higher number of days hospitalized at 10 years postinjury. Potential explanations for these variations are discussed, and recommendations are made for potential changes to policy and clinical care.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI. Electronic address: mahmoudi@med.umich.edu.
authors.forename: Elham
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mahmoudi
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
authors.forename: Michelle A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Meade
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
authors.forename: Martin B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Forchheimer
authors.affiliation: Kessler Foundation Research Center, West Orange, NJ.
authors.forename: Denise C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Fyffe
authors.affiliation: Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC.
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Krause
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI.
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Tate
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D000367:Age Factors; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007902:Length of Stay / Q000639:trends*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000639:trends*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000208:ethnology* / Q000628:therapy; D013997:Time Factors; D015599:Trauma Severity Indices; D014481:United States; D044465:White People / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Disparity; Ethnicity; Hospitalization; Race; Rehabilitation; Spinal cord injuries