TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2019//
TI  - Community distress predicts youth gun violence
JO  - Journal of pediatric surgery
A1  - Tracy, Brett M.
A1  - Smith, Randi N.
A1  - Miller, Krista
A1  - Clayton, Eric
A1  - Bailey, Kathryn
A1  - Gerrin, Carrol
A1  - Eversley-Kelso, Tatiana
A1  - Carney, David
A1  - MacNew, Heather
SP  - ePub
EP  - ePub
VL  - ePub
IS  - ePub
N2  - BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to investigate our institution's experience with pediatric firearm events. We sought to determine the relationship between a community's level of socioeconomic distress and the incidence of youth gun violence. <br><br>METHODS: We performed a retrospective review of children <18 years involved in firearm events. Using visual cluster analysis, we portrayed all firearm events and violent firearm events (assaults + homicides). Distressed community indices (DCIs) were obtained from an interface that uses US Census Bureau data. Incident rate ratios (IRRs) were calculated for firearm circumstances (i.e. assault, homicide, suicide) using a DCI. Significant IRRs were analyzed to discern which DCI metrics contributed most to gun violence. <br><br>RESULTS: There were 114 children involved in firearm events; 66 were county residents. The DCI of injury location significantly predicted total firearm events (IRR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01-1.03), assaults (IRR 1.02, 95% CI 1.01-1.05), and violent firearm events (IRR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.05). The proportion of adults without a high school diploma, poverty rate, median income ratio, and housing vacancy rate were highly predictive of gun violence (VIP >1). <br><br>CONCLUSION: Community distress significantly predicts pediatric firearm violence. Local interventions should target neighborhoods with high levels of distress to prevent further youth gun violence. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Retrospective study, IV.<br><br>Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0022-3468
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2019.03.021
ID  - ref1
ER  -