Table 1.
Comparison of demographic, medical, cultural, and psychosocial factors by race
| Factor | Total (N=422) |
African American (N=171) |
White (N=251) |
p-value1,2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Site - % (N) by site | < 0.001 | |||
| VAMC A | 25.1 (106) | 41.5 (44) | 58.5 (62) | |
| VAMC B | 43.4 (183) | 49.2 (90) | 50.8 (93) | |
| VAMC C | 31.5 (133) | 27.8 (37) | 72.2 (96) | |
| Demographic - % (N) | ||||
| Gender (female) | 4.3 (18) | 1.8 (3) | 6.0 (15) | 0.04 |
| Ethnicity (Hispanic) | 5.2 (22) | 2.9 (5) | 6.8 (17) | 0.08 |
| Married (Yes) | 39.6 (167) | 32.8 (56) | 44.2 (111) | 0.02 |
| Educational level (≥ Some College) | 61.4 (259) | 51.5 (88) | 68.1 (171) | < 0.001 |
| Employment Status (Employed) | 10.7 (45) | 4.7 (8) | 14.7 (37) | < 0.001 |
| Family Income (≥ $25,000) | 44.6(188) | 38.6 (66) | 48.6 (122) | 0.02 |
| Insurance (Any Private - yes) | 14.0 (59) | 8.2 (14) | 17.9 (45) | < 0.01 |
| Wheelchair from SCI specialty clinic (yes) | 69.2 (292) | 71.4 (122) | 67.7 (170) | 0.54 |
| Age - M(SD) | 57.3 (12.3) | 57.7 (10.2) | 57.0 (13.6) | 0.56 |
| Medical - % (N) | ||||
| Co-Morbid Conditions ( > 1) | 49.3 (208) | 47.4 (81) | 50.6 (127) | 0.52 |
| Level of Injury | 0.08 | |||
| Tetraplegia | 45.7 (193) | 50.9 (87) | 42.2 (106) | |
| Paraplegia | 54.3 (229) | 49.1 (84) | 57.8 (145) | |
| Years since injury - M(SD) | 18.9 (14.9) | 15.9 (12.8) | 20.9 (15.9) | < 0.001 |
| Culturally - Related Factors3 | ||||
| Experience of Discrimination - % ever(n) |
34.1 (144) | 46.8 (80) | 25.5 (64) | <0.0001 |
| Communication with provider - % > 4(n) | 32.5 (137) | 28.7 (49) | 35.1 (88) | 0.17 |
| Health Literacy - % > 10(n) | 58.3 (246) | 48.0 (82) | 65.3 (164) | <0.001 |
| Perceived Racism - M(SD) | 2.4 (0.8) | 2.6 (0.8) | 2.3 (0.7) | <0.0001 |
| Healthcare System Distrust - M(SD) | 2.5 (0.6) | 2.5 (0.7) | 2.5 (0.6) | 0.97 |
| Psychosocial Factors – M(SD)4 | ||||
| Self-esteem | 3.1 (0.5) | 3.2 (0.4) | 3.1 (0.5) | 0.02 |
| Mastery | 2.9 (0.5) | 2.9 (0.5) | 2.9 (0.5) | 0.59 |
| Anxiety | 1.4 (0.6) | 1.3 (0.5) | 1.4 (0.6) | 0.02 |
| Depression | 3.1 (0.5) | 1.4 (0.6) | 1.6 (0.8) | <0.01 |
Note:
1
Independent samples t-test was performed for continuous variables, chi-square for dichotomous variables or Fisher exact test if appropriate.
2
Bold items are significant at p ≤ 0.05.
3
Experience of discrimination (range: 1–6); perceived racism (range: 1–5); healthcare system distrust (range: 1–5); communication with provider (range: 1–5); health literacy (range: 0–11).
4
Self-esteem (range: 1–4); Mastery (range: 1–4); Anxiety (range: 1–5); Depression (range: 1–5)