Effects of demographic and socioeconomic factors on the use of skin substitutes in burn patients

- Insurance status, race, and gender have all been shown to influence decision-making in health care.
- This paper examines whether demographic and socioeconomic factors affect the decision to use skin substitutes in burn patients.
- The National Burn Repository (NBR) is a national database of burn patients supported by the American Burn Association (ABA).
- The choice to use skin substitutes in burn patients may be influenced by non-medical factors. Female gender predicts the use of skin substitutes, as does having commercial insurance.
- The decision to use skin substitute may influence mortality, with this study showing lower mortality associated with the use of skin substitutes.