OBJECTIVE: 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. METHODS: 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. RESULTS: 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). CONCLUSIONS: 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.
OBJECTIVE: 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. METHODS: 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. RESULTS: 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). CONCLUSIONS: 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.
Authors: Rebecca M Cunningham; Stephen T Chermack; Marc A Zimmerman; Jean T Shope; C Raymond Bingham; Frederic C Blow; Maureen A Walton Journal: Pediatrics Date: 2012-05-21 Impact factor: 7.124
Authors: Maureen A Walton; Stephen T Chermack; Jean T Shope; C Raymond Bingham; Marc A Zimmerman; Frederic C Blow; Rebecca M Cunningham Journal: JAMA Date: 2010-08-04 Impact factor: 56.272
Authors: Brenda M Booth; Jim Edward Weber; Maureen A Walton; Rebecca M Cunningham; Lynn Massey; Carol R Thrush; Ronald F Maio Journal: Acad Emerg Med Date: 2005-04 Impact factor: 3.451
Authors: Nikeea Copeland-Linder; Vanya C Jones; Denise L Haynie; Bruce G Simons-Morton; Joseph L Wright; Tina L Cheng Journal: J Pediatr Psychol Date: 2007-04-02
Authors: Rebecca M Cunningham; Patrick M Carter; Megan Ranney; Marc A Zimmerman; Fred C Blow; Brenda M Booth; Jason Goldstick; Maureen A Walton Journal: JAMA Pediatr Date: 2015-01 Impact factor: 16.193
Authors: Patrick M Carter; Maureen A Walton; Douglas R Roehler; Jason Goldstick; Marc A Zimmerman; Frederic C Blow; Rebecca M Cunningham Journal: Pediatrics Date: 2015-04-06 Impact factor: 7.124
Authors: Megan L Ranney; Jonathan Fletcher; Harrison Alter; Christopher Barsotti; Vikhyat S Bebarta; Marian E Betz; Patrick M Carter; Magdalena Cerdá; Rebecca M Cunningham; Peter Crane; Jahan Fahimi; Matthew J Miller; Ali Rowhani-Rahbar; Jody A Vogel; Garen J Wintemute; Muhammad Waseem; Manish N Shah Journal: Ann Emerg Med Date: 2016-12-18 Impact factor: 5.721
Authors: Patrick M Carter; Aaron D Dora-Laskey; Jason E Goldstick; Justin E Heinze; Maureen A Walton; Marc A Zimmerman; Jessica S Roche; Rebecca M Cunningham Journal: Am J Prev Med Date: 2018-10-19 Impact factor: 5.043
Authors: Patrick M Carter; Lawrence J Cook; Michelle L Macy; Mark R Zonfrillo; Rachel M Stanley; James M Chamberlain; Joel A Fein; Elizabeth R Alpern; Rebecca M Cunningham Journal: Acad Emerg Med Date: 2017-05-29 Impact factor: 3.451
Authors: Patrick M Carter; Maureen A Walton; Marc A Zimmerman; Stephen T Chermack; Jessica S Roche; Rebecca M Cunningham Journal: Acad Emerg Med Date: 2016-09-07 Impact factor: 3.451
Authors: Maureen A Walton; Quyen Epstein-Ngo; Patrick M Carter; Marc A Zimmerman; Frederic C Blow; Anne Buu; Jason Goldstick; Rebecca M Cunningham Journal: Drug Alcohol Depend Date: 2017-02-03 Impact factor: 4.492
Authors: Megan L Ranney; John V Patena; Shira Dunsiger; Anthony Spirito; Rebecca M Cunningham; Edward Boyer; Nicole R Nugent Journal: Contemp Clin Trials Date: 2019-05-23 Impact factor: 2.226