Who waits for inpatient rehabilitation services in Canada after neurotrauma? A population based-study.

Abstract

This study examined characteristics of patients with acquired brain injury associated with wait times for inpatient rehabilitation compared with a control population of patients with acquired spinal cord injury. This cross-sectional study was based on 9458 patients captured in the National Rehabilitation Reporting System in Canada. Waiting for inpatient rehabilitation was found to be associated with language, geographical location, informal support, pre-admission living arrangement and payer source. The median differences in wait time, however, were at most a few days. Persons already receiving care had the longest median wait times. The data reflect only the perspective of providers, and further research needs to examine days to inpatient admission using data from acute care.