Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #108272

Patricia A. Findley, DrPH, MSW, Program for Disability Research, Rutgers University, 303 George Street, Suite 405, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, 732-932-3421, pfindley@rci.rutgers.edu and Usha Sambamoorthi, PhD, Division of Health Systems and Policy, School of Public Health, University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, 11 Bartram Road, Englishtown, NJ 07726.

Objective: This study presents an overview of the traumatic brain injury (TBI) Medicaid waiver program in Illinois and describes the characteristics and vocational outcomes among individuals enrolled in this specialized waiver program.

Study Design: Retrospective analysis of Medicaid claims and program enrollment files of Medicaid applicants and enrollees in the Illinois Medicaid TBI Waiver program for fiscal years 2002-2004.

Population Studied: Study population consisted of 2,467 adults aged over 18 years individuals with TBI residing in Illinois.

Principal Findings: There study population was 54% men and 46% women; 48% white, 44% African American, and 5% Latino. The remainder was American Indian or Asian or Hawaii or Pacific Islanders. A third of the population was between 30 – 49 years. One quarter of the individuals were married and only 33% were never married. Only 7% reported having employment at the time of application and only 1% remained employed at the close of the follow up period. Individuals who left the community and program to reside in nursing homes remained very low at 1.4%.

Conclusion: Despite the hallmark of the program's focus on case management to integrate the individual with TBI into the community and vocational environments, the employment outcomes of the program were poor. However, individuals continued to remain in their homes and communities.

Implications for Policy, Delivery or Practice: Case-managed Medicaid waiver programs are still not able to meet their vocational goals for individuals with disabilities. Further research is needed to assess the areas of refinement in achieving these goals.

Learning Objectives:

• The learner will (a) describe the components of the Illinois Medicaid Traumatic Brain Injury Waiver program, (b) understand the relationship of case management and vocational outcomes, and (c) evaluate the impact of the waiver program on community reintegration for individuals with traumatic brain injury.

Keywords: Case Management, Traumatic Brain Injury

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.