@article{ref1,
title="Characteristics of youth seeking emergency care for assault injuries",
journal="Pediatrics",
year="2014",
author="Cunningham, Rebecca M. and Ranney, Megan L. and Newton, Manya and Woodhull, Whitney and Zimmerman, Marc and Walton, Maureen A. L.",
volume="133",
number="1",
pages="e96-105",
abstract="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.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0031-4005",
doi="10.1542/peds.2013-1864",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-1864"
}