Disparities in Access, Management and Outcomes of Critically Ill Adult Patients with Trauma

Despite legal protections guaranteeing care for patients with trauma, disparities exist in patient outcomes. We review disparities in patient management and outcomes related to insurance status, race and ethnicity, and gender for patients with trauma in the preadmission, in-hospital, and postdischarge settings. We highlight groups understudied and either underrepresented or unrepresented in national trauma databases-including American Indians/Alaska Natives, non-English preferred patients, and patients with disabilities. We call for more study of these groups and of upstream factors affecting the reviewed demographics to measure and improve outcomes for these vulnerable populations.