Provider Perspectives of Facilitators and Barriers to Reaching and Utilizing Chronic Pain Healthcare for Persons With Traumatic Brain Injury: A Qualitative NIDILRR and VA TBI Model Systems Collaborative Project.

OBJECTIVE: To identify facilitators and barriers to reaching and utilizing chronic pain treatments for persons with traumatic brain injury (TBI) organized around an Access to Care framework, which includes dimensions of access to healthcare as a function of supply (ie, provider/system) and demand (ie, patient) factors for a specified patient population. SETTING: Community. PARTICIPANTS: Clinicians (n = 63) with experience treating persons with TBI were interviewed between October 2020 and November 2021. DESIGN: Descriptive, qualitative study. MAIN MEASURES: Semistructured open-ended interview of chronic pain management for persons with TBI. Informed by the Access to Care framework, responses were coded by and categorized within the core domains (reaching care, utilizing care) and relevant subdimensions from the supply (affordability of providing care, quality, coordination/continuity, adequacy) and demand (ability to pay, adherence, empowerment, caregiver support) perspective. RESULTS: Themes from provider interviews focused on healthcare reaching and healthcare utilization resulted in 19 facilitators and 9 barriers reaching saturation. The most themes fell under the utilization core domain, with themes identified that impact the technical and interpersonal quality of care and care coordination/continuity. Accessibility and availability of specialty care and use of interdisciplinary team that permitted matching patients to treatments were leading thematic facilitators. The leading thematic barrier identified primarily by medical providers was cognitive disability, which is likely directly linked with other leading barriers including high rates of noncompliance and poor follow-up in health care. Medical and behavioral health complexity was also a leading barrier to care and potentially interrelated to other themes identified. CONCLUSION: This is the first evidence-based study to inform policy and planning for this complex population to improve access to high-quality chronic pain treatment. Further research is needed to gain a better understanding of the perspectives of individuals with TBI/caregivers to inform interventions to improve access to chronic pain treatment for persons with TBI.

Workplace Belonging of Women Healthcare Professionals Relates to Likelihood of Leaving.

Purpose: There is a high rate of attrition of professionals from healthcare institutions, which threatens the economic viability of these institutions and the quality of care they provide to patients. Women professionals face particular challenges that may lower their sense of belonging in the healthcare workplace. We sought to test the hypothesis that workplace belonging of women healthcare professionals relates to the likelihood that they expect to leave their institution. Methods: Participants of a continuing education course on women's leadership skills in health care completed a survey about their experiences of belonging in workplace and their likelihood of leaving that institution within the next 2 years. An association between workplace belonging (measured by the cumulative number of belonging factors experienced, scale 0-10) and likelihood of leaving (measured on a 5-point Likert scale) was evaluated using ordinal logistic regression. The relative importance of workplace belonging factors in predicting the likelihood of leaving was assessed using dominance analysis. Results: Ninety-nine percent of survey participants were women, and 63% were clinicians. Sixty-one percent of participants reported at least a slight likelihood of leaving their healthcare institution within the next 2 years. Greater workplace belonging was found to be associated with a significant reduction in the reported likelihood of leaving their institution after accounting for the number of years having worked in their current institution, underrepresented minority status, and the interaction between the latter two covariates. The workplace belonging factor found to be most important in predicting the likelihood of leaving was the belief that there was an opportunity to thrive professionally in the institution. Belonging factors involving feeling able to freely share thoughts and opinions were also found to be of relatively high importance in predicting the likelihood of leaving. Conclusion: Greater workplace belonging was found to relate significantly to a reduced likelihood of leaving their institution within the next 2 years. Our findings suggest that leaders of healthcare organizations might reduce attrition of women by fostering workplace belonging with particular attention to empowering professional thriving and creating a culture that values open communication.

For-Profit and Not-for-Profit Inpatient Rehabilitation in Traumatic Brain Injury: Analysis of Demographics and Outcomes.

OBJECTIVE: To describe differences in characteristics and outcomes of patients with traumatic brain injury by inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF) profit status. DESIGN: Retrospective database review using the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation. SETTING: IRFs. PARTICIPANTS: Individual discharges (N=53,630) from 877 distinct rehabilitation facilities for calendar years 2016 through 2018. INTERVENTION: Not applicable. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Patient demographic data (age, race, primary payer source), admission and discharge FIM, FIM gain, length of stay efficiency, acute hospital readmission from for-profit and not-for-profit IRFs within 30 days, and community discharges by facility profit status. RESULTS: Patients at for-profit facilities were significantly older (69.69 vs 64.12 years), with lower admission FIM scores (52 vs 57), shorter lengths of stay (13 vs 15 days), and higher discharge FIM scores (88 vs 86); for-profit facilities had higher rates of community discharges (76.8% vs 74.6%) but also had higher rates of readmission (10.3% vs 9.9%). CONCLUSIONS: The finding that for-profit facilities admit older patients who are reportedly less functional on admission and more functional on discharge, with higher rates of community discharge but higher readmission rates than not-for-profit facilities is an unexpected and potentially anomalous finding. In general, older, less functional patients who stay for shorter periods of time would not necessarily be expected to make greater functional gains. These differences should be further studied to determine if differences in patient selection, coding and/or billing, or other unreported factors underlie these differences.

Variation in 30-Day Readmission Rates from Inpatient Rehabilitation Facilities to Acute Care Hospitals.

OBJECTIVES: To quantify the rate of readmission from inpatient rehabilitation facilities (IRFs) to acute care hospitals (ACHs) during the first 30 days of rehabilitation stay. To measure variation in 30-day readmission rate across IRFs, and the extent that patient and facility characteristics contribute to this variation. DESIGN: Retrospective analysis of an administrative database. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Adult IRF discharges from 944 US IRFs captured in the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation database between October 1, 2015 and December 31, 2017. METHODS: Multilevel logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted rates of readmission within 30 days of IRF admission and examine variation in IRF readmission rates, using patient and facility-level variables as predictors. RESULTS: There were a total of 104,303 ACH readmissions out of a total of 1,102,785 IRFs discharges. The range of 30-day readmission rates to ACHs was 0.0%‒28.9% (mean = 8.7%, standard deviation = 4.4%). The adjusted readmission rate variation narrowed to 2.8%‒17.5% (mean = 8.7%, standard deviation = 1.8%). Twelve patient-level and 3 facility-level factors were significantly associated with 30-day readmission from IRF to ACH. A total of 82.4% of the variance in 30-day readmission rate was attributable to the model predictors. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Fifteen patient and facility factors were significantly associated with 30-day readmission from IRF to ACH and explained the majority of readmission variance. Most of these factors are nonmodifiable from the IRF perspective. These findings highlight that adjusting for these factors is important when comparing readmission rates between IRFs.

How Physician Compensation and Education Debt Affects Financial Stress and Burnout: A Survey Study of Women in Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the contribution of financial stress to physician burnout and satisfaction among women physiatrists. Relationships among education debt and compensation with demographic, sociologic, and workplace factors were also assessed. DESIGN: This was a cross-sectional survey study of women physicians in the field of physical medicine and rehabilitation (PM&R) in the United States. The survey consisted of 51 questions covering demographic information (current and maximum education debt, race/ethnicity, years out of training, practice type and setting, hours worked, family structure, and domestic duties), work/life satisfaction, and burnout. The association between current/maximum debt and demographic characteristics, work/life satisfaction, and physician burnout were examined. RESULTS: Of the 245 U.S. women attending physiatrists who met inclusion criteria, 222 (90.6%) reported ever having education debt (median category $101 000-150 000) and 162 (66.1%) reported current debt (median category ≤ $50 000). Of these participants, 218 (90.5%) agreed that they would have fewer burnout symptoms if they were able to do more work that is core to their professional mission and 226 (92.2%) agreed that feeling undervalued at work is linked to physiatrists' burnout symptoms. Greater debt was seen in those who identified as Black/African American, were fewer years out of training, practiced general physiatry, and had both inpatient and outpatient responsibilities. Greater current debt had a significant relationship with measurements of work/life dissatisfaction. Burnout was associated with higher debt, lower compensation, more hours worked per week, and fewer hours of exercise performed per week. CONCLUSIONS: This study examined women physiatrists' perceptions of financial stress and found that greater education debt was associated with personal life dissatisfaction, career regret, and burnout. Further research is needed to address related causes and solutions.

Race in association with physical and mental health among former professional American-style football players: findings from the Football Players Health Study.

PURPOSE: Race differences in health are pervasive in the United States. American-style football players are a racially diverse group with social status and other benefits that may reduce health disparities. Whether race disparities in health exist among former professional football players, and whether they differ by era of play, is unknown. METHODS: We examined the association of self-reported race with health outcomes (e.g., physical and cognitive function, pain, depression, and anxiety), among 3747 participants in the Football Players Health Study, comprising former National Football League players who played since 1960. We conducted analyses stratified by age. RESULTS: Black players had increased risk of all five adverse health outcomes versus white players (risk ratio range = 1.36 to 1.89). Native Hawaiians and men of other races had greater risk of all health outcomes except impaired physical functioning, compared with white players (risk ratio range = 1.25 to 1.64). No clear patterns were observed by era of play. In general, race disparities were not accounted for by health-related exposures during playing years. Adjustment for current BMI somewhat attenuated associations. CONCLUSIONS: Social and economic advantages of playing professional football did not appear to equalize race disparities in health.

Assessing the Ability of Comorbidity Indexes to Capture Comorbid Disease in the Inpatient Rehabilitation Spinal Cord Injury Population.

OBJECTIVE: To examine whether commonly used comorbidity indexes (Deyo-Charlson comorbidity index, Elixhauser comorbidity index, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services [CMS] comorbidity tiers) capture comorbidities in the acute traumatic and nontraumatic SCI inpatient rehabilitation population. DESIGN: Retrospective cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS: Data were obtained from the Uniform Data System for Medical Rehabilitation from October 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017 for adults with spinal cord injury (SCI) (Medicare-established Impairment Group Codes 04.110-04.230, 14.1, 14.3). This study included SCI discharges (N=66,235) from 833 inpatient rehabilitation facilities. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: International Classification of Diseases-10th Revision-Clinical Modifications (ICD-10-CM) codes were used to assess 3 comorbidity indexes (Deyo-Charlson comorbidity index, Elixhauser comorbidity index, CMS comorbidity tiers). The comorbidity codes that occurred with >1% frequency were reported. The percentages of discharges for which no comorbidities were captured by each comorbidity index were calculated. RESULTS: Of the total study population, 39,285 (59.3%) were men and 11,476 (17.3%) were tetraplegic. The mean number of comorbidities was 14.7. There were 13,939 distinct ICD-10-CM comorbidity codes. There were 237 comorbidities that occurred with >1% frequency. The Deyo-Charlson comorbidity index, Elixhauser comorbidity index, and the CMS tiers did not capture comorbidities of 58.4% (95% confidence interval, 58.08%-58.84%), 29.4% (29.07%-29.76%), and 66.1% (65.73%-66.46%) of the discharges in our study, respectively, and 28.8% (28.42%-29.11%) of the discharges did not have any comorbidities captured by any of the comorbidity indexes. CONCLUSION: Commonly used comorbidity indexes do not reflect the extent of comorbid disease in the SCI rehabilitation population. This work suggests that alternative measures may be needed to capture the complexity of this population.

Utility of Functional Metrics Assessed During Acute Care on Hospital Outcomes: A Systematic Review.

OBJECTIVE: Traditionally, illness severity, social factors, and comorbid conditions have been examined as predictors of hospital outcomes. However, recent research in the rehabilitation setting demonstrated that physical function outperformed comorbidity indices as a predictor of 30-day readmission. The purpose of this study was to review the literature examining the association between acute hospital physical function and various hospital outcomes and health care utilization. TYPE: Systematic review. LITERATURE SURVEY: A review of the MEDLINE database was performed. Search terms included acute functional outcomes and frailty outcomes. Studies up to September 2017 were included if they were in English and examined how functional metrics collected at acute care hospitalization affected hospital outcomes. METHODOLOGY: Cohort characteristics and measures of associations were extracted from the studies. Outcomes include hospital readmission, length of stay, mortality, discharge location, and physical function post acute care. The studies were assessed for potential confounders as well as selection, attrition, and detection bias. SYNTHESIS: A total of 30 studies were identified (hospital readmissions: 6; discharge location: 11; length of stay: 4; mortality: 15; function: 6). Thirteen different metrics assessed function during acute care. Lower function during acute care was associated with statistically significant higher odds of hospital readmission, lower likelihood of discharge to home, longer hospital length of stay, increased mortality, and worse functional recovery when compared to patients with higher function during acute care, when adjusted for age and gender. The Barthel Index may be a useful marker for mortality in the elderly whereas the Functional Independence Measure instrument may be valuable for examining discharge location. CONCLUSIONS: There is increasing evidence that function measured during acute care predicts a broad array of meaningful clinical outcomes. Further research would help direct the use of practical, yet parsimonious functional metrics that effectively screen high-need, high-cost patients to deliver optimal care. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: I.

Assessment of Women Physicians Among Authors of Perspective-Type Articles Published in High-Impact Pediatric Journals.

Importance: Most pediatricians are women; however, women pediatricians are underrepresented in academic leadership positions such as department chairs and journal editors and among first authors of original research articles published in pediatric journals. Publication of all types of articles, particularly in high-impact specialty journals, is crucial to career building and academic success. Objective: To examine the gender-related profile associated with authors of perspective-type articles in the 4 highest-impact general pediatric journals to determine whether women physicians were similarly underrepresented. Design and Setting: Cross-sectional study of perspective-type articles published between 2013 and 2017 in the 4 highest-impact general pediatric journals: Academic Pediatrics, JAMA Pediatrics, The Journal of Pediatrics, and Pediatrics. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome measure was the number and percentage of first-author women physicians as compared with men physicians. Secondary outcome measures included number and percentage of all men and all women among last authors and coauthors associated with physician first authors. Results: A total of 425 perspective-type articles were identified, with physicians listed as the first author on 338 (79.5%). Women were underrepresented among physician first authors of known gender (140 of 336 [41.7%]), particularly among physician first authors of article categories described as scholarly (range, 15.4%-44.1%) vs categories described as narrative (range, 52.9%-65.6%) in nature. Women were also underrepresented among last authors and coauthors of articles attributed to both men and women physician first authors, although the underrepresentation of women among last authors and coauthors was more pronounced if a man physician was the first author. Conclusions and Relevance: Because perspective-type articles provide an opportunity for authors to express their opinions, provide insights that may influence their field, and enhance their academic resumes, there is a need for pediatric journal editors and leaders of medical societies who are associated with these journals to ensure the equitable inclusion of women in medicine. A hallmark of best practices for diversity and inclusion in academic medicine is transparency with regard to reporting of gender disparities in all areas of scholarship attribution and credit.

Neuropsychiatric symptoms and expenditure on complementary and alternative medicine.

OBJECTIVE: Neuropsychiatric symptoms affect 37% of US adults. These symptoms are often refractory to standard therapies, and patients may consequently opt for complementary and alternative medicine therapies (CAM). We sought to determine the demand for CAM by those with neuropsychiatric symptoms compared to those without neuropsychiatric symptoms as measured by out-of-pocket expenditure. METHOD: We compared CAM expenditure between US adults with and without neuropsychiatric symptoms (n = 23,393) using the 2007 National Health Interview Survey. Symptoms included depression, anxiety, insomnia, attention deficits, headaches, excessive sleepiness, and memory loss. CAM was defined per guidelines from the National Institutes of Health as mind-body therapies, biological therapies, manipulation therapies, or alternative medical systems. Expenditure on CAM by those without neuropsychiatric symptoms was compared to those with neuropsychiatric symptoms. RESULTS: Of the adults surveyed, 37% had ≥ 1 neuropsychiatric symptom and spent $14.8 billion out-of-pocket on CAM. Those with ≥ 1 neuropsychiatric symptom were more likely than those without neuropsychiatric symptoms to spend on CAM (27.4% vs 20.3%, P < .001). Likelihood to spend on CAM increased with number of symptoms (27.2% with ≥ 3 symptoms, P < .001). After adjustment was made for confounders using logistic regression, those with ≥ 1 neuropsychiatric symptom remained more likely to spend on CAM (odds ratio [OR] = 1.34; 95% CI, 1.22-1.48), and the likelihood increased to 1.55 (95% CI, 1.34-1.79) for ≥ 3 symptoms. Anxiety (OR = 1.40 [95% CI, 1.22-1.60]) and excessive sleepiness (OR = 1.36 [95% CI, 1.21-1.54]) were the most closely associated with CAM expenditure. CONCLUSIONS: Those with ≥ 1 neuropsychiatric symptom had disproportionately higher demand for CAM than those without symptoms. Research regarding safety, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of CAM is limited; therefore, future research should evaluate these issues given the tremendous demand for these treatments.

The economic cost of firearm-related injuries in the United States from 2006 to 2010.

BACKGROUND: Estimates of the number of firearm-related injuries widely vary. Although focus has been primarily on deaths, the societal cost of caring for victims of these injuries is largely unknown. Our goal was to estimate the economic impact of nonfatal, firearm-related injuries in the United States based on recent, publically available data. METHODS: We queried several national registries for hospital and emergency department (ED) discharges from 2006 to 2010 to estimate the annual incidence of firearm-related injuries. The cost of direct medical services and lost productivity from firearm-related injuries were extrapolated from recently published estimates. To identify potentially important trends, we compared the economic impact and payor mix for firearm-related injuries in 2006 with those in 2010. RESULTS: During the 5-year analytic period, we identified 385,769 (SE = 29,328) firearm-related ED visits resulting in 141,914 (SE = 14,243) hospital admissions, costing more than $88 billion (SE = $8.0 billion). Between 2006 and 2010, there was a decrease in the rate of hospital visits from 6.65 per 10,000 visits in 2006 to 5.76 per 10,000 visits in 2010 (P < .001). Similarly, the rate of hospital admissions and ED visits without admission decreased from 2.58 per 10,000 to 1.96 per 10,000 (P < .001) and 4.08 per 10,000 to 3.79 per 10,000 (P < .001). Regression of the economic costs from 2006 to 2010, adjusted for Consumer Price Index, showed no change (P = .15). There was a decrease in the proportion of Uninsured between 2006 and 2010 from 51.6% to 46.78% (P < .001). CONCLUSION: Firearm-related injuries are a major economic burden to not only the American health care system but also to American society. The incidence of these injuries has decreased slightly from 2006 to 2010, with no change in the economic burden. Research aimed at understanding the associated financial, social, health, and disability-related issues related to firearm injuries is necessary and would likely enhance our knowledge of the causes of these events, and may accelerate development of interventions and policies to decrease the staggering medical and societal cost of gun violence.

Traumatic brain injury research priorities: the Conemaugh International Brain Injury Symposium.

In 2005, an international symposium was convened with over 100 neuroscientists from 13 countries and major research centers to review current research in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and develop a consensus document on research issues and priorities. Four levels of TBI research were the focus of the discussion: basic science, acute care, post-acute neurorehabilitation, and improving quality of life (QOL). Each working group or committee was charged with reviewing current research, discussion and prioritizing future research directions, identifying critical issues that impede research in brain injury, and establishing a research agenda that will drive research over the next five years, leading to significantly improved outcomes and QOL for individuals suffering brain injuries. This symposium was organized at the request of the Congressional Brain Injury Task Force, to follow up on the National Institutes of Health Consensus Conference on TBI as mandated by the TBI ACT of 1996. The goal was to review what progress had been made since the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Consensus Conference, and also to follow up on the 1990's Decade of the Brain Project. The major purpose of the symposium was to provide recommendations to the U.S. Congress on a priority basis for research, treatment, and training in TBI over the next five years.

Demographic and socioeconomic factors associated with disparity in wheelchair customizability among people with traumatic spinal cord injury.

OBJECTIVES: To determine if a standard of care for wheelchair provision exists within the participating centers and if there is disparity in wheelchair customizability among the study sample. DESIGN: Convenience sample survey. SETTING: Thirteen Model Spinal Cord Injury Systems that provide comprehensive rehabilitation for people with traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) and that are part of the national database funded through the US Department of Education. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 412 people with SCI who use wheelchairs over 40 hours a week. INTERVENTION: Survey information was obtained from subjects via telephone and in-person interviews and from the national database. Collected information included age, race, education, level of injury, and wheelchair funding source. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number and type (manual or power) of wheelchairs. Wheelchair customizability as defined by design features (eg, adjustable axle position, programmable controls). RESULTS: Ninety-seven percent of manual wheelchair users and 54% of power wheelchair users had customizable wheelchairs. No power wheelchair user received a wheelchair without programmable controls. Minorities with low socioeconomic backgrounds (low income, Medicaid/Medicare recipients, less educated) were more likely to have standard manual and standard programmable power wheelchairs. Older subjects were also more likely to have standard programmable power wheelchairs. CONCLUSIONS: The standard of care for manual wheelchair users with SCI is a lightweight and customizable wheelchair. The standard of care for power wheelchairs users has programmable controls. Unfortunately, socioeconomically disadvantaged people were less likely to receive customizable wheelchairs.

Physical medicine and rehabilitation consultation: relationships with acute functional outcome, length of stay, and discharge planning after traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: Patients hospitalized with traumatic brain injury comprise a large portion of the population treated at trauma centers, and physiatry consultants evaluate many traumatic brain injury patients in this setting. The purpose of this study was to delineate relationships between physical medicine and rehabilitation consultation in this population and acute functional outcome, length of stay, and discharge planning. DESIGN: Data were obtained for 1866 adult patients hospitalized with nonfatal traumatic brain injury. Functional outcome was determined using a modification of the FIM trade mark. Descriptive and regression analyses were used to determine the relationship of physical medicine and rehabilitation consultation to acute discharge FIM score, length of stay, and discharge disposition. RESULTS: Patients receiving physical medicine and rehabilitation consultation had more severe injuries, lower acute discharge FIM scores, and longer length of stay. However, multivariate analysis showed that earlier (<48 hr after admission) physical medicine and rehabilitation consultation resulted in significantly better FIM scores with transfers (odds ratio, 2.61; 95% confidence interval, 1.06-6.40) and locomotion (odds ratio, 3.54; 95% confidence interval, 1.34-9.32) and a significantly shorter acute length of stay (P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Early physical medicine and rehabilitation consultation may positively impact functional status and length of stay for patients with traumatic brain injury during acute hospitalization. Additional work is needed to determine how physical medicine and rehabilitation consultation impacts rehabilitation-specific medical issues, long-term functional outcome, and healthcare costs.