Journal article
Homeless in America: injuries treated in US emergency departments, 2007-2011
International journal of injury control and safety promotion, Vol.21(3), pp.289-297
07/03/2014
Handle:
https://hdl.handle.net/2376/117078
PMCID: PMC3947742
PMID: 24011180
Abstract
Despite being a high-risk population, epidemiological research about injuries among homeless individuals is limited. We sought to describe injury characteristics among individuals identified as homeless in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), and to compare them to age- and sex-matched controls. We searched text narratives for all patients with product-related injuries who presented to NEISS emergency departments from 2007 to 2011 to identify homeless cases (N = 268). A random sample of 2680 age- and sex-matched controls was identified for the same time period. The incident location differed between groups, and the mention of substance use was significantly more common among homeless cases than controls. The body part injured differed significantly between cases and controls for all age groups, with the exception of older adults. Among homeless cases, injuries occurred most frequently to the lower extremities, and sprains/strains, contusions/abrasions and burns were most common. Additional research on injury among homeless individuals is warranted in order to identify meaningful preventive strategies for this at-risk population.
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Details
- Title
- Homeless in America: injuries treated in US emergency departments, 2007-2011
- Creators
- Jessica L Mackelprang - Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of WashingtonJanessa M Graves - Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, University of WashingtonFrederick P Rivara - Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Washington
- Publication Details
- International journal of injury control and safety promotion, Vol.21(3), pp.289-297
- Academic Unit
- Nursing, College of
- Publisher
- Taylor & Francis
- Identifiers
- 99900547986201842
- Language
- English
- Resource Type
- Journal article