CONTACT US: Contact info
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Citation |
May JP, Hemenway DA, Hall A. Inj. Prev. 2002; 8(3): 236-238. |
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Affiliation |
South Florida Reception Center, Miami, Florida 33178, USA. Drjpmay@aol.com |
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Copyright |
(Copyright © 2002, BMJ Publishing Group) |
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DOI |
unavailable |
PMID |
12226123 |
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PMCID |
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Abstract |
OBJECTIVES: To determine whether criminals go to the hospital when they are shot. Such information is needed to check on the accuracy of using hospital emergency room data to estimate non-fatal gunshot wounds. SETTING: Five jails across the US. METHODS: A survey of inmates being booked into jail, administered by in-house health care staff. RESULTS: Over 90% of over 300 criminals who had been wounded sometime before their incarceration reported going to a hospital for treatment after being shot. These results are consistent with previous findings from one jail. CONCLUSIONS: Jail inmates who had previously been shot were likely to have been treated in a hospital. This limited finding is consistent with the proposition that hospital/emergency department data may miss only a small percentage of gunshot wounds to criminals. |