Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Impact of novel psychosocial programming on readmission and recidivism rates among patients with violence-related trauma

  • Trauma Surgery
  • Published:
Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Introduction

The Victims of Crime Advocacy and Recovery Program (VOCARP) provides advocacy, mental health resources, and educational materials. This study will report complications, readmissions, and recidivism among crime victims, and who used or did not use victim services.

Materials and methods

Patients engaged with programming from 3/1/17 until 12/31/18 were included. Control groups were patients injured by violent trauma without VOCARP use (N = 212) and patients injured by unintentional injuries (N = 201). Readmissions, complications, reoperations, and trauma recidivism were reported.

Results

1019 patients (83%) used VOCARP. VOCARP users were less often male (56% vs. 71%), less commonly married (12% vs. 41%), and had fewer gunshot wounds (GSWs, 26% vs. 37%) and sexual assaults (4.1% vs. 8%), all p < 0.05. Of all 1,423 patients, 6.6% had a readmission and 7.4% developed a complication. VOCARP patients had fewer complications (4.5% vs. 13.7%), infections (2% vs. 9%), wound healing problems (1% vs. 3.3%), and deep vein thromboses (0.3% vs. 1.9%), all p < 0.05, but no differences in unplanned operations (4.5%). GSW victims had the most complications, readmissions, and unplanned surgeries. Prior trauma recidivism was frequent among all groups, with crime victim patients having 40% prior violence-related injury (vs 9.0% control, p < 0.0001). Trauma recidivism following VOCARP use occurred in 8.5% (vs 5.7% for non-users, p = 0.16).

Conclusion

Crime victims differ from other trauma patients, more often with younger age, single marital status, and unemployment at baseline. Complications were lower for VOCARP patients. GSW patients had the most complications, readmissions, and unplanned secondary procedures, representing a population for future attention.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

All data are available upon reasonable request.

References

  1. Aboutanos MB, Jordan A, Cohen R, Foster RL, Goodman K, Halfond RW, Poindexter R, Charles R, Smith SC, Wolfe LG, Hogue B, Ivatury RR (2011) Brief violence interventions with community case management services are effective for high-risk trauma patients. J Trauma 71(1):228–236

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Becker MG, Hall JS, Ursic CM, Jain S, Calhoun D (2004) Caught in the Crossfire: the effects of a peer-based intervention program for violently injured youth. J Adolesc Health 34(3):177–183

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  3. Bell TM, Gilyan D, Moore BA, Martin J, Ogbemudia B, McLaughlin BE, Moore R, Simons CJ, Zarzaur BL (2018) Long-term evaluation of a hospital-based violence intervention program using a regional health information exchange. J Trauma Acute Care Surg 84(1):175–182

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Buss T, Abdu R (1995) Repeat victims of violence in an urban trauma center. Violence Vict 10:183e194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Caputo ND, Shields CP, Ochoa C, Matarlo J, Leber M, Madlinger R, Waseem M (2012) Violent and fatal youth trauma: is there a missed opportunity? West J Emerg Med 13(2):146–150

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Cheng TL, Haynie D, Brenner R, Wright JL, Chung SE, Simons-Morton B (2008) Effectiveness of a mentor-implemented, violence prevention intervention for assault-injured youths presenting to the emergency department: results of a randomized trial. Pediatrics 122(5):938–946

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Cheng TL, Schwarz D, Wright BRA, JL, Fields CB, O’Donell R, Rhee P, Scheidt PC, (2003) Adolescent assault injury: risk & protective factors and locations of contact for intervention: a matched case-control study. Pediatrics 112(4):931–938

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Cheng TL, Wright JL, Fields CB, Brenner RA, O’Donnell R, Schwarz D, Scheidt PC (2001) Violent injuries among adolescents: declining morbidity & mortality in an urban population. Ann Emerg Med 37:292–300

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Cooper C, Eslinger DM, Stolley PD (2006) Hospital-based violence intervention programs work. J Trauma 61(3):534–540

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. Dickey RL, Barnes BC, Kearns RJ, Tullos HS (1989) Efficacy of antibiotics in low-velocity gunshot fractures. J Orthop Trauma 3(1):6–10

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Dougherty PJ, Vaidya R, Silverton CD, Bartlett CS 3rd, Najibi S (2009) Joint and long-bone gunshot injuries. J Bone Joint Surg Am 91(4):980–997

    Google Scholar 

  12. Griffin RL, Davis GG, Levitan EB, MacLennan PA, Redden DT, McGwin G Jr (2014) The effect of previous traumatic injury on homicide risk. J Forensic Sci 59(4):986–990

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  13. Haider AH, Young JH, Kisat M, Villegas CV, Scott VK, Ladha KS, Haut ER, Cornwell EE, MacKenzie EJ, Efron DT (2014) Association between intentional in- jury and long-term survival after trauma. Ann Surg 259(5):985–992

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  14. Hemmila MR, Jakubus JL, Maggio PM, Wahl WL, Dimich JB, Campbell DA Jr, Taheri PA (2008) Real money: complications and hospital cost in trauma patients. Surgery 144:307316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Heron M (2019) Deaths: leading causes for 2017. Natl Vital Stat Rep 68(6):1–77

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  16. Juillard C, Cooperman L, Allen I, Pirracchio R, Henderson T, Marquez R, Orellana J, Texada M, Dicker RA (2016) A decade of hospital-based violence intervention: benefits and shortcomings. J Trauma Acute Care Surg 81(6):1156–1161

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  17. Knapp TP, Patzakis MJ, Lee J, Seipel PR, Abdollahi K, Reisch RB (1996) Comparison of intravenous and oral antibiotic therapy in the treatment of fractures caused by low-velocity gunshots a prospective, randomized study of infection rates. J Bone Joint Surg Am 78(8):1167–1171

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Long WT, Brien EW, Boucree JB Jr, Filler B, Stark HH, Dorr LD (1995) Management of civilian gunshot injuries to the hip. Orthop Clin North Am 26:123–131

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Loveland-Jones C, Ferrer L, Charles S, Ramsey F, vanZandt A, Volgraf J, Santora T, Pathak Am Dujon J, Sjoholm L, Rappold J, Goldberg A (2016) A prospective randomized study of the efficacy of “Turning Point,” an inpatient violence intervention program. J Trauma Acute Care Surg 81(5):834–842

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  20. Luckenbill DF (1977) Criminal homicide as a situated transaction. Soc Probl 25:176–186

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Metcalf KB, Smith EJ, Wetzel RJ, Sontich JK, Ochenjele G (2020) Comparison of clinical outcomes after intramedullary fixation of tibia fractures caused by blunt trauma and civilian gunshot wounds: a retrospective review. J Orthop Trauma 34(6):e208–e213

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Moeller TG (2001) Youth aggression and violence: a psychological approach. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Mahwah, NJ

    Book  Google Scholar 

  23. Najibi S, Matta JM, Dougherty PJ, Tannast M (2012) Gunshot wounds to the acetabulum. J Orthop Trauma 26:451–459

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Nguyen MP, Savakus JC, O’Donnell JA, Prayson NF, Reich MR, Golob JF Jr, McDonald AA, Como JJ, Vallier HA (2017) Infection rates and treatment of low-velocity extremity gunshot injuries. J Orthop Trauma 31(6):326–329

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  25. Nguyen MP, Reich MS, O’Donnell JA, Savakus J, Prayson NF, Golob JF Jr, McDonald AA, Como JJ, Vallier HA (2017) Infection and complications after low-velocity intra-articular gunshot injuries. J Orthop Trauma 31(6):330–333

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  26. Perry DJ, Sanders DP, Nyirenda CD, Lezine-Hanna JT (1995) Gunshot wounds to the knee. Orthop Clin North Am 26:155–163

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  27. Prin M, Li G (2016) Complications and in-hospital mortality in trauma patients treated in intensive care units in the United States, 2013. Inj Epidemiol 3(1):18

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  28. Redeker N, Smeltzer S, Kirkpatrick J, Parchment S (1995) Risk factors of adolescent and young adult trauma victims. Am J Crit Care 4(5):370–378

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  29. Rich JA, Grey CM (2005) Pathways to recurrent trauma among young black men: traumatic stress, substance abuse, and the “Code of the Street. Am J Public Health 95:816824

    Article  Google Scholar 

  30. Shibru D, Zahnd E, Becker M, Bekaert N, Calhoun D, Victorino GP (2007) Benefits of a hospital-based peer intervention program for violently injured youth. J Am Coll Surg 205(5):684Y689

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Simske NM, Rivera T, Breslin MA, Hendrickson SB, Simpson M, Kalina M, Ho VP, Vallier HA (2020) Implementing psychosocial programming at a level 1 trauma center: results from a 5-year period. Trauma Surg Acute Care Open 5(1):e000363

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  32. Simske NM, Rivera T, Ren BO, Vallier HA (2022) Victims of crime program decreases risk for new mental illness. J Ment Health Clin Psychol 6:3–10

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. Su CA, Nguyen MP, O’Donnell JA, Vallier HA (2018) Outcomes of tibia shaft fractures caused by low energy gunshot wounds. Injury 49(7):1348–1352

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  34. Zun LS, Downey L, Rosen J (2006) The effectiveness of an ED-based violence prevention program. Am J Emerg Med 24(1):8–13

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This research study received no external funding to conduct the study or to prepare and publish this paper. The Victims of Crime Advocacy and Recovery Program is funded by the Ohio Attorney General’s office through federal funding received from the U.S. Department of Justice to support the State of Ohio Office of Victims of Crime. The authors have no other financial or other conflicts of interest to disclose.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

    Natasha M. Simske

  2. Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA

    Trenton Rivera, Bryan O. Ren, Mary A. Breslin, Ryan Furdock & Heather A. Vallier

Authors
  1. Natasha M. Simske
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Trenton Rivera
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Bryan O. Ren
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Mary A. Breslin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Ryan Furdock
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Heather A. Vallier
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All the authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection, and analysis were performed by NS, TR, BR, RF, and MB. The first draft of the paper was written by NS and HV. All the authors contributed to the paper revision and all agreed upon the final submission.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Heather A. Vallier.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

Each author certifies that he or she has no commercial associations (e.g., consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangements, etc.), or relevant financial or non-financial interests that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article.

Ethical approval

This study was performed in line with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki. Site Institutional Review Board approval was obtained (IRB21-00038) through the MetroHealth IRB.

Consent to participate

Informed consent was obtained from all individuals included in this study.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Simske, N.M., Rivera, T., Ren, B.O. et al. Impact of novel psychosocial programming on readmission and recidivism rates among patients with violence-related trauma. Arch Orthop Trauma Surg 143, 7043–7052 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-023-05019-1

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00402-023-05019-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation