Original ArticleNeighborhood Socioeconomic Deprivation and Youth Assault Injuries in Vancouver, Canada
Section snippets
Methods
We performed a population-based retrospective study set in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The Vancouver census metropolitan area (hereafter referred to as “Vancouver”) consists of 21 municipalities, 1 Electoral Area, and 1 Treaty First Nation. At the study midpoint, Vancouver had a population of 2 582 146 (including 457 628 youth aged 10-24 years), a median household income of CAD $72 662 (USD $56 886), and an unemployment rate of 5.8%.17,18 About 41% of Vancouver’s residents are
Results
During the 7-year study interval, 4166 assaults requiring medical care occurred among 3817 youth, corresponding to 113 injuries per 100 000 person-years. Victims were typically male, aged 20-24 years, who were assaulted in the street or in a commercial area (Figure 2, Figure 3, Figure 4, Figure 5; available at www.jpeds.com). Most were discharged alive from the ED without hospital admission. Among patients with injuries severe enough to warrant enrollment in the CDS, 11.1% had a documented
Discussion
We performed a population-based retrospective study of 4166 assault injuries in youth aged 10-24 years seeking emergency medical care at 14 acute care hospitals over a 7-year study interval. Assaulted youth were typically male, aged 20-24 years, frequently had substance use and mental health disorders, and often were intoxicated with alcohol at the time of injury. Assault injury risk varied 147-fold according to hour-of-week, with the greatest risks on Friday and Saturday nights. Assault injury
Data Statement
Data sharing statement available at www.jpeds.com.
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Violent Injury as a Predictor of Subsequent Assault-Related Emergency Department Visits Among Adolescents
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Supported by grants from the Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute, Canada and The University of British Columbia Division of General Internal Medicine. J.S. was supported by a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Health Professional-Investigator award. Funding organizations were not involved in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis and interpretation of the data; preparation, review and approval of this manuscript; or the decision to publish. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Portions of this study were presented at the Virtual Pediatric Celebrate Research Day, April 9, 2021, Vancouver, Canada; the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) Annual Meeting and Expo, October 24-28, 2020, San Francisco, California; and the Canadian Paediatric Society Annual Conference, June 4-6, 2020, Vancouver, British Columbia (canceled).