BACKGROUND: Violence as well as alcohol-attributable injuries is a dominant public health issue worldwide. Victims, being injured, frequently visit emergency rooms (ER). METHODS: We interviewed all the patients seeking help in an urban emergency room reporting being victims of violent behavior over a period of 3 months (from November 2011 to January 2012). RESULTS: Our results showed that 1 out of 23 patients seeking help in our ER was due to forcible means. A total of 15 % of all victims reported domestic violence (75 % women) and others (90 % men) reported brawl as the reason for seeking help. Overall, 80 % of the victims were younger than 40 years. In case of domestic violence, two-third (only women) reported that they were hurt by their intimate partner. At total of 50 % were treated for head wounds and 35 % had injuries of their extremities. One-third of the patients were alcoholized. The victims of brawls mainly suffer from head injuries (69 %). Half of this patient group was under the influence of alcohol. CONCLUSIONS: To conclude, victims of violence seek for help in emergency rooms daily. Alcohol consumption is the main factor for violent behavior. Public health programs to prevent alcohol related violence and therefore, alcohol-attributable injuries have to be implemented. Addressing the need to enhance the awareness of the health professionals has to be an imperative.
BACKGROUND: Violence as well as alcohol-attributable injuries is a dominant public health issue worldwide. Victims, being injured, frequently visit emergency rooms (ER). METHODS: We interviewed all the patients seeking help in an urban emergency room reporting being victims of violent behavior over a period of 3 months (from November 2011 to January 2012). RESULTS: Our results showed that 1 out of 23 patients seeking help in our ER was due to forcible means. A total of 15 % of all victims reported domestic violence (75 % women) and others (90 % men) reported brawl as the reason for seeking help. Overall, 80 % of the victims were younger than 40 years. In case of domestic violence, two-third (only women) reported that they were hurt by their intimate partner. At total of 50 % were treated for head wounds and 35 % had injuries of their extremities. One-third of the patients were alcoholized. The victims of brawls mainly suffer from head injuries (69 %). Half of this patient group was under the influence of alcohol. CONCLUSIONS: To conclude, victims of violence seek for help in emergency rooms daily. Alcohol consumption is the main factor for violent behavior. Public health programs to prevent alcohol related violence and therefore, alcohol-attributable injuries have to be implemented. Addressing the need to enhance the awareness of the health professionals has to be an imperative.
Authors: Oulmann Zerhouni; Laurent Bègue; Georges Brousse; Françoise Carpentier; Maurice Dematteis; Lucie Pennel; Joel Swendsen; Cheryl Cherpitel Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2013-09-27 Impact factor: 3.390