Figure 1

Donabedian’s model of quality of care posits that processes of care (Vascular Preventive Care) may be associated with patient outcomes. However, the complex relationships among demographic characteristics, initial injury severity, and comorbid physical and psychiatric conditions require careful attention to the potential for confounding and effect modifiers. While it is also important to control for demographic characteristics, particular concern is focused on controlling for disease burden and initial injury characteristics since these may have substantial impact on the outcome that is unrelated to the initial vascular injury and preventive care.