title: Emergency room visits and hospitalizations among participants with spinal cord injury.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Literature examining emergency room visits (ERV) and emergency room related hospitalizations (ERH) after spinal cord injury (SCI) is limited.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  Identify (1) the annual frequency of ERV and ERH and (2) their likelihood as a function of demographic, injury, and socioeconomic characteristics.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants (n = 1,579) with SCI completed mailed self-report questionnaires.
  
  
  RESULTS
  37% reported at least one ERV, with an average of 85 ERV per 100 participants. 19% reported at least one ERH and an average of 33 ERH annually per 100 participants. A greater likelihood of ERV was observed among non-whites, those with more severe SCI, less education, and lower income. Among those with at least one ERV, greater risk of ERH was observed among non-Hispanic whites, those with more severe SCI, lower education, and higher age.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  ERV are common after SCI and should be accounted for when predicting SCI related expenses. Those with the most severe SCI and those in the oldest age group were most likely to be hospitalized after an ERV.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences and Research, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
authors.forename: James S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Krause
authors.affiliation: Department of Economics, Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, Indianapolis, IN, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph V
authors.initials: JV
authors.lastname: Terza
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences and Research, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Sciences and Research, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA.|Department of Psychology, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas City, MO, USA.
authors.forename: Jillian M R
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Clark
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends*; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000191:economics / Q000639:trends*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057566:Self Report; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013119:Spinal Cord Injuries / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000628:therapy*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Spinal cord injuries; age factors; emergency room; health; healthcare disparities; hospitalization