Citation

Fabio A, Sauber-Schatz EK, Barbour KE, Li W. Am. J. Public Health 2009; 99(4): 748-753.

Affiliation

University of Pittsburgh, Center for Injury Research and Control.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2008.139576

PMID

19150902

PMCID

PMC2661492

Abstract

Objectives: We investigated whether within-county racial segregation was associated with increased odds of violent injury beyond individual risk. Methods: In a cross-sectional study, data on 75310 patients admitted with an injury to Pennsylvania hospitals from 1997 to 1999 were analyzed to determine the association between county-level racial segregation and violent injury. We used multilevel analysis to adjust for individual- and county-level factors. Principal components analysis allowed us to separate the effect of segregation from other county-level variables. Results: After adjustment, greater segregation was associated with increased odds of violent injury among Whites (odds ratio [OR]=1.20; 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.11, 1.30) and non-Whites (OR=1.45; 95% CI= 1.28, 1.64). The association was stronger for non-Whites. Conclusions: Our results suggested that living in a county with high levels of racial segregation was associated with increased odds of violence not explained by an individual's own risk. These findings represent an important step in understanding the nature of observed links between race and violence. Future work shoulddevelop prevention strategies that simultaneouslytarget community and individual risks.

Language: en