Racial Disparities and Pressure Injuries among Hospitalized Patients

OBJECTIVE To describe the demographic factors, hospitalization-related factors, comorbid states, and social determinants of health among racial groups in a sample of patients with a primary or secondary diagnosis of pressure injury (PI) admitted to New Jersey hospitals during the year 2018. METHODS Researchers conducted a retrospective analysis of the Health Care Utilization Project's 2018 New Jersey State Inpatient Database. Patients with a primary or secondary diagnosis of PI (sacrum, buttocks, or heels; N = 17,781) were included in the analytic sample. Analysis compared patients who identified as Black (n = 3,515) with all other racial groups combined (n = 14,266). RESULTS A higher proportion of Black patients were admitted for a PI (P <.001) and had higher proportions of stage 4 PIs (P <.001) but a lower proportion of stage 1 PIs (P <.001). Higher proportions of Black patients were younger, resided in lower income communities, and identified Medicaid as their primary payor source. CONCLUSIONS Results highlight the racial disparities that exist among patients with PIs in this diverse state and may represent a much larger problem. Clinical research examining the impact of skin tone rather than by racial group is needed. The impact of racial disparities on social determinants of health with regard to PIs remains largely unknown, but its importance cannot be underestimated.