538 - The abstract

Friday, April 28, 2023

5:15 PM – 7:15 PM ET

Poster Number: 538
Publication Number: 538.117

Presenting Author(s)

Inaya Champion (she/her/hers)

Presenting Author
Kennedy Krieger Institute

Background: In our pediatric rehabilitation hospital setting, unstable patients must be transferred to a higher level of care for evaluation and treatment. Outcomes include treatment in the emergency department and return to the rehabilitation hospital, or admission to an acute care hospital. It is unclear if sociodemographic factors or diagnostic categories impact the odds of being transferred to a higher level of care.

Objective: Examine sociodemographic characteristics and diagnostic categories associated with increased odds of transfer to a higher level of care.

Design/Methods:

This study is a retrospective review of all admitted patients’ records from January 2017 to May 2022.

Variables studied included race, ethnicity, gender, insurance type, language spoken, and diagnostic categories.

Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics for independent and dependent variables, as well as Pearson’s chi-square and Fisher’s exact tests for the association between sociodemographic variables, diagnostic categories, and transfer status.

Results:

There were 1,375 patients included in the study. The majority of identified races were White (34.8%), Black (21.5%), Other (12.3%), and Asian (2.3%). Race was unknown in 29.2% of patients. Hispanic patients made up 5.6% of the total patient group.

Patients who identified as Hispanic (n=7,4.0%) were less likely to be transferred than those who did not identify as Hispanic (n=165,94.3%). The percentage of known Asian patients (n=21,12%) who required transfer was significantly higher than those who did not require transfer (n=10,0.8%). Patients with unknown race (n=298,33.2%) were significantly less likely to be transferred compared to those with unknown race who were transferred (n=3,1.7%; p< 0.001).

Almost half (n=81,46.3%; p< 0.001) of the 175 patients who required transfer were admitted for rehabilitation due to brain injury.

Conclusion(s): This study demonstrates the importance of obtaining complete race and ethnicity data to identify areas of need, as systematic collection of patient sociodemographic information will support evidence-based health equity practices. Additional study of risk factors associated with specific diagnostic categories could decrease transfers and ensure continuation of rehabilitation services.