Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Older adults (age > 65) now represent 40% of patients treated for traumatic injuries. The current trauma systems were designed to best address injuries among younger adults. How best to provide care for injured older adults remains largely an unanswered question and has resulted in unequal care for older adults. Better understanding how to help older adults achieve long-term recovery is crucial for planning their care. It is well documented that frailty, chronic conditions, and other health events predict outcomes. It is not understood whether groups of older adults with similar health needs exist and whether these groups have different recovery trajectories following injury. The purpose of this research is to address these knowledge gaps to ensure older adults receive the highest quality of care after traumatic injuries. My study will (1) use artificial intelligence methods to identify groups of older adults with similar pre-injury health status and (2) determine which groups have worse long-term outcomes after injury. My approach differs from other research on trauma outcomes in that we focus on the long-term outcomes, measuring factors important to patients, such as their ability to remain at home. Our findings can be used to eliminate disparities in trauma care at the patient-level by informing clinicians on the factors that determine their patients' ability to remain alive and at home and at the policy level by identifying regions to prioritize for improved trauma care.