The prevalence of trauma and childhood adversity in an urban, hospital-based violence intervention program

TJ Corbin, J Purtle, LJ Rich, JA Rich… - Journal of health care …, 2013 - muse.jhu.edu
TJ Corbin, J Purtle, LJ Rich, JA Rich, EJ Adams, G Yee, SL Bloom
Journal of health care for the poor and underserved, 2013muse.jhu.edu
Hospitals represent a promising locus for preventing recurrent interpersonal violence and its
psychological sequella. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis to assess the prevalence
of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among
victims of interpersonal violence participating in a hospital-based violence intervention
program. Participants completed PTSD and ACE screenings four to six weeks after violent
injury, and data were exported from a case management database for analysis. Of the 35 …
Abstract
Hospitals represent a promising locus for preventing recurrent interpersonal violence and its psychological sequella. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis to assess the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) among victims of interpersonal violence participating in a hospital-based violence intervention program. Participants completed PTSD and ACE screenings four to six weeks after violent injury, and data were exported from a case management database for analysis. Of the 35 program participants who completed the ACE and/or PTSD screenings, 75.0% met full diagnostic criteria for PTSD, with a larger proportion meeting diagnostic criteria for symptom-specific clusters. For the ACE screening, 56.3% reported three or more ACEs, 34.5% reported five or more ACEs, and 18.8% reported seven or more ACEs. The median ACE score was 3.5. These findings underscore the importance of trauma-informed approaches to violence prevention in urban hospitals and have implications for emergency medicine research and policy.
Project MUSE