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Abstract
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Purpose
Community-level factors associated with workplace homicide have not been explored in detail. The aim of our study is to describe socioeconomic (SES) and crime characteristics associated with areas at high-risk for worker homicide.Methods
Using GIS methods, North Carolina workplaces were spatially linked to SES data from the census and crime data from law enforcement agencies. Census block groups (n=4076) comprised the unit of analysis and were categorized as being at high (>= 75th percentile) or low risk for workplace homicide according to the proportion of workplaces in each block group classified as high-risk for worker homicide (based on pervious research). Separate models were constructed to examine social factors (social organization disruptions and SES advantage) and agency-level crime (index, property and violent) rates, respectively. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).Results
From multivariate models where crime was the primary exposure, violent crime rates > 75th percentile was associated with block groups at high-risk for workplace homicide (OR=1.48; 95%CI=1.05-2.09). In models examining social organization disruption measures: residential mobility (OR=1.86, 95%CI=1.27-2.72), population density (OR=1.28, 95%CI=1.04-1.58), and low percentages (<= 25th percentile) of Black, non-Hispanic (OR=1.36, 95%CI=1.13-1.64) and foreign born (OR=1.40, 95%CI=1.18-1.68) residents were positively associated with high-risk block groups. Level of SES advantage was inversely associated with block groups containing a high proportion of high-risk workplaces (OR=0.57, 95%CI=0.42-0.78).Conclusion
Areas with a high violent crime rate, social organization disruption and low SES advantage contain a higher proportion of high-risk workplaces. Elucidating social influences on violence complements current understanding of workplace homicide. |