The number of children and adolescents affected by firearm violence are staggering. To help you better understand the public health impact, order this print compendium of AAP editor-curated articles with quick access to the latest most salient studies.
https://shop.aap.org/pediatric-collections-firearm-related-injuries-and-preventions-paperback/
Characteristics of Youth Seeking Emergency Care for Assault Injuries
-
Published:September 2017
Rebecca M. Cunningham, MD, Megan Ranney, MPH, MD, Manya Newton, MD, Whitney Woodhull, MPH, Marc Zimmerman, PhD, Maureen A. Walton, MPH, PhD, 2017. "Characteristics of Youth Seeking Emergency Care for Assault Injuries", Firearm-Related Injuries and Preventions, American Academy of Pediatrics
Download citation file:
To characterize youth seeking care for assault injuries, the context of violence, and previous emergency department (ED) service utilization to inform ED-based injury prevention.
A consecutive sample of youth (14–24) presenting to an urban ED with an assault injury completed a survey of partner violence, gun/knife victimization, gang membership, and context of the fight.
A total of 925 youth entered the ED with an assault injury; 718 completed the survey (15.4% refused); 730 comparison youth were sampled. The fights leading to the ED visit occurred at home (37.6%) or on streets (30.4%), and were commonly with a known person (68.3%). Fights were caused by issues of territory (23.3%) and retaliation (8.9%); 20.8% of youth reported substance use before the fight. The assault-injured group reported more peer/partner violence and more gun experiences. Assault-injured youth reported higher past ED utilization for assault (odds ratio [OR]: 2.16) or mental health reasons (OR: 7.98). Regression analysis found the assault-injured youth had more frequent weapon use (OR: 1.25) and substance misuse (OR: 1.41).
Assault-injured youth seeking ED care report higher levels of previous violence, weapon experience, and substance use compared with a comparison group seeking care for other complaints. Almost 10% of assault-injured youth had another fight-related ED visit in the previous year, and ∼5% had an ED visit for mental health. Most fights were with people known to them and for well-defined reasons, and were therefore likely preventable. The ED is a critical time to interact with youth to prevent future morbidity.
