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Mental Health After Injury: How Neighborhoods Impact Recovery, Bryce Hruska, Maria Pacella-Labarbara, Ivan E. Castro, Richard L. George, Douglas L. Delahanty

Population Health Research Brief Series

Each year in the United States, there are over 90 million injury-related emergency department visits, resulting in $4.2 trillion in costs related to medical care, loss of work, and reduced quality of life. Nearly a quarter of injury survivors are diagnosed with a new mental health disorder within the first year of injury. This brief examines several aspects of neighborhood context and their relationship to PTSD symptom severity following an injury. Results show that survivors living in neighborhoods with higher racial segregation and lower socioeconomic status report higher PTSD symptom severity.