Social support can mitigate socioeconomic disparities in trauma patients.

BACKGROUND

Socioeconomic status (SES) worsens post-injury outcomes, whereas strong support networks aid recovery. The interplay of support networks and SES remains unclear.

METHODS

Adult trauma patients from three level-1 trauma centers were interviewed 6 months post-injury to assess their outcomes. Interaction effects and adjusted probabilities were calculated to evaluate the outcomes across SES and support network levels.

RESULTS

This study analyzed 1243 participants. Adverse outcomes were higher in participants with Low SES and weaker support networks. There were significant negative interactions for PTSD (p ​< ​0.001). High SES ​+ ​Low support and Low SES ​+ ​High support had similar probabilities of PTSD (18.75 ​% vs. 13.9 ​%, p ​= ​0.126), return to work (32.7 ​% vs. 43.6 ​%, p ​= ​0.118), chronic pain (50.9 ​% vs. 59.3 ​%, p ​= ​0.135), and functional dependence (35.5 ​% vs. 35.9 ​%, p ​= ​0.922).

CONCLUSION

Social support and SES may offset each other's effects on trauma recovery, highlighting the potential of network-based interventions to reduce SES-related disparities.