Improving Adolescent Violent Trauma Outcomes With a Hospital-Based Violence Prevention Initiative

BACKGROUND: Violent trauma results in significant morbidity/mortality in Black/Hispanic males aged 15 to 24 years. Hospital- and community-level interventions may improve patient and community outcomes. OBJECTIVE: To determine if a hospital-based violence prevention intervention using community outreach workers was associated with improved violent trauma patient postdischarge follow-up and reinjury rates. METHODS: This is a retrospective, single-center, cohort study of admitted violent trauma patients to a public hospital in the Bronx, NY. Data were collected from a convenience sample of patients aged 15 to 24 years admitted with International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, codes for gunshot wound, stab wound, or physical assault from August 2014 to April 2018. The exposure variable was documentation of intervention team evaluation during admission. The outcome variables included attending >50% scheduled postdischarge follow-up visits, and subsequent violent reinjury (gunshot wound, stab wound, blunt assault) during the study time period. Multivariable regression models were used to determine the association between the exposure and outcome variables. RESULTS: A total of 535 patients were evaluated and were primarily male (92.5%), Black (54%)/Latino (36.4%), with mean age of 19.1 years. Patients in the exposure group had increased odds of attending >50% of scheduled clinic postdischarge follow-up visits (odds ratio, 2.29; 95% confidence interval 1.59-3.29) and decreased odds of subsequent violent reinjury presentation (odds ratio, 0.41; 95% confidence interval 0.22-0.75) 3 months after hospital discharge. CONCLUSION: A hospital-based violence prevention intervention may be associated with decreased odds of violent reinjury and increased odds of postdischarge scheduled appointment adherence in admitted pediatric violent trauma patients.