Violence Prevention Programs Are Effective When Initiated During the Initial Workup of Patients in an Urban Level I Trauma Center

Abstract

This study represents the first attempt at evaluating the ability of the CureViolence Hospital-Response Intervention Program (previously CeaseFire) to disrupt the pattern of violent reinjury. The clinical data points of 300 African American men who presented to our trauma center with a gunshot wound and received intervention at the bedside between 2005 and 2007 (with a 48-month follow-up) were collected. This cohort was matched with a post hoc historical control group using hospital records from 2003 to 2005. The mean age for both groups was 23.9 years. Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were obtained. Using a binary logistical regression model, we assessed the performance of three variables of interest: age at the time of the initial injury, treatment group, and initial disposition group to predict recidivism. We utilized the Nagelkerke R square method, which described the proportion of the variance of the reinjury rate and validated our findings using the Hosmer–Lemeshow test (for goodness-of-fit). Six percent ( n = 18) of subjects in the treatment group and 11% ( n = 33) in the control group returned with a new injury, yielding a total reinjury rate of 8.5%. Most patients returned only once with another violent injury. Individuals who did not receive CureViolence services were nearly twice as likely (odds ratio = 1.94; 95% confidence interval = 1.065, 3.522) to return with a violent reinjury. This finding suggests that Hospital-Response Intervention Programs (HRIP) have a protective effect in violently injured patients. We therefore conclude our HRIP positively affected at-risk patients and prevented violent reinjury.

Hospital Based Violence Intervention Programs Using Peer Support Specialists: A Concise Review

“…CureViolence provided a 48-month follow-up where data were collected on victims. The HVIP connected victims with community resources based on their individual needs, and the CureViolence database was used to track engagement (Thomas et al, 2022). The sample size included the treatment group (n = 300) and the nontreatment group (n = 300).…”

“…The treatment group had a violent trauma recidivism rate of 6% (n = 18), with 13 gunshot wounds reported. The nontreatment group had a violent trauma recidivism rate of 11% (n = 18), with 27 gunshot wounds reported (Thomas et al, 2022). The absence of criminal records during their research was a significant omission that could have provided valuable insights.…”

“…Of the studies that focused on recidivism, 2 had control groups and 2 did not. The first control group study by Thomas et al (2022) was an HVIP program titled CureViolence. It was based at an urban Midwest U.S. Level I trauma center where nearly all victims suffered gunshot wounds.…”