One important study reveals that the risk of death following a traumatic brain injury is twice as high for people of color. If you have a family member who suffers from brain injuries, here are some important things to know.
Brain injury death rates
Oregon Health & Science University studied the outcomes of over 6,300 traumatic brain injury patients who received care at the university’s hospital between 2006 and 2017. The death rate for traumatic brain injuries was 9.9% overall but 14.6% among patients who were part of ethnic or racial minorities.
After making adjustments for the patient’s type of injury, age and injury severity, researchers found that minority patients had more than twice the risk of dying while hospitalized than white patients. The authors of the study assert that there was no treatment bias while patients were in the hospital for brain injury treatment. Instead, racial health disparities were the cause of the alarming difference in traumatic brain injury death rates. The findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Surgery on June 2, 2021.
What doctors are saying
An associate professor of neurological surgery states that the results of the brain injury study would be similar if another condition, such as pneumonia, were the focus of the study. Health disparities are connected to health factors such as occupation, access to health care, lifestyle and diet. The authors of the study assert that doctors have a “societal and professional duty” to both acknowledge and accept the impact of structural racism and work to improve the health of patients before traumatic events happen.
If you have a loved one who has suffered a brain injury, it may be possible to claim compensation from the party that caused the injury. It may be beneficial to speak with a personal injury lawyer to learn about settlement options.