Abstract:
We predict that rural residents will be found to have poorer rehabilitation outcomes than urban residents. We predict that this difference will be partially predicted by time from injury to presentation to Model System emergency room, initial severity of injury, and early neurosurgical management. We also expect that the longer distances to obtain follow-up services, more missed appointments, and lower socioeconomic status will make additional contributions to predicting differences in rehabilitation outcome for rural vs. urban residents. These findings will have implications for development of new models of service provision for rural residents