Medical respite programs are an important solution to alleviate the environmental factors attributed to poor outcomes in orthopaedic trauma patients experiencing homelessness
Institution
OHSU
Program/Major
Epidemiology
Degree
MPH
Presentation Type
Poster
Start Date
4-8-2021 10:38 AM
End Date
4-8-2021 10:43 AM
Persistent Identifier
https://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/35576
Keywords
Orthopaedics, trauma, homelessness, medical respite
Abstract
Persons experiencing homelessness are exposed to a unique set of environmental factors that may disproportionately expose them to traumatic injuries. This population is particularly vulnerable to orthopaedic trauma based on the neighborhoods in which they reside, barriers to receiving healthcare, and social determinants of health. Further, when orthopaedic trauma occurs in persons experiencing homelessness, there is a complex array of postoperative considerations to ensure successful recovery. The purpose of this review is to discuss the environmental factors that may be attributable to orthopaedic trauma and describe how medical respite programs can alleviate these factors to improve the postoperative care of this population. In the absence of targeted policy that eliminates upstream factors that may cause a person to experience homelessness, medical respite programs provide acute and post-acute care for the orthopaedic trauma population experiencing homelessness. Medical respite programs may improve postoperative outcomes for orthopaedic trauma patients experiencing homelessness, which could result in reduced healthcare utilization and costs while improving population health. Thus, additional funding should be a priority to expand access to medical respite care for orthopaedic trauma patients experiencing homelessness.
Medical respite programs are an important solution to alleviate the environmental factors attributed to poor outcomes in orthopaedic trauma patients experiencing homelessness
Persons experiencing homelessness are exposed to a unique set of environmental factors that may disproportionately expose them to traumatic injuries. This population is particularly vulnerable to orthopaedic trauma based on the neighborhoods in which they reside, barriers to receiving healthcare, and social determinants of health. Further, when orthopaedic trauma occurs in persons experiencing homelessness, there is a complex array of postoperative considerations to ensure successful recovery. The purpose of this review is to discuss the environmental factors that may be attributable to orthopaedic trauma and describe how medical respite programs can alleviate these factors to improve the postoperative care of this population. In the absence of targeted policy that eliminates upstream factors that may cause a person to experience homelessness, medical respite programs provide acute and post-acute care for the orthopaedic trauma population experiencing homelessness. Medical respite programs may improve postoperative outcomes for orthopaedic trauma patients experiencing homelessness, which could result in reduced healthcare utilization and costs while improving population health. Thus, additional funding should be a priority to expand access to medical respite care for orthopaedic trauma patients experiencing homelessness.