Association between community distress and return to work after burn injury

Lauren L Agoubi; Scha'Chia Murphy; Kara McMullen; Gretchen J Carrougher; Stephanie A Mason; Damien W Carter; Callie M Thompson; Karen Kowalske; John W Scott; Barclay T Stewart

doi:10.1016/j.burns.2024.107294

Association between community distress and return to work after burn injury

Burns. 2024 Oct 18;51(1):107294. doi: 10.1016/j.burns.2024.107294. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA. Electronic address: Lagoubi@uw.edu.
² Maine Medical Center, Portland, ME, USA.
³ Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁴ UW Medicine Regional Burn Center, Department of Surgery, Harborview Medical Center, Seattle, WA, USA.
⁵ Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, USA.
⁶ University of Utah Health, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.
⁷ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
⁸ Department of Surgery, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

PMID: 39522135
DOI: 10.1016/j.burns.2024.107294

Abstract

Introduction: Community-level disadvantage is associated with reduced quality of life after burn injury. We evaluated the association between community-level disadvantage and return to work after burn injury.

Methods: A multicenter burn injury database was queried from 1998-2021. Participants 18-65 years old with documented employment status and ZIP codes were included. Exposures were community distress (Distressed Communities Index, DCI), patient demographics, and burn characteristics. The primary outcome was odds of employment 6 months after burn injury using stepwise logistic regression models, first with patient-level variables, then DCI. An interaction term was included to evaluate the modification of DCI and post-injury employment by race.

Results: 1960 participants were included, with a median age of 39.2 years (IQR 29.2, 49.3); 81 % were White, 75 % male, and 74 % were working at the time of injury. Participants unemployed 6 months post-injury were more often older, female, non-White, and unemployed at injury, with larger burn sizes and longer hospitalizations. 59 % of participants unemployed at 6 months were employed at the time of injury. Residence in the highest distress ZIP codes was associated with 2.21 (95 % CI 1.39-3.52) odds of 6 month unemployment. Older age, larger burn size, more operations, Black race, and pre-injury unemployment were associated with the greatest odds of unemployment. The interaction between race and DCI was not statistically significant.

Conclusion: Patients from the highest distress communities have twice the odds of unemployment 6 months after injury. This association did not vary by race. Screening for DCI by ZIP code may be a useful tool to focus vocational rehabilitation resources.

Keywords: Burns; Community Distress; Recovery.