TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2014//
TI  - Characteristics of youth seeking emergency care for assault injuries
JO  - Pediatrics
A1  - Cunningham, Rebecca M.
A1  - Ranney, Megan L.
A1  - Newton, Manya
A1  - Woodhull, Whitney
A1  - Zimmerman, Marc
A1  - Walton, Maureen A. L.
SP  - e96
EP  - 105
VL  - 133
IS  - 1
N2  - 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>
LA  - en
SN  - 0031-4005
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-1864
ID  - ref1
ER  -