Generating a Core Set of Outcomes for Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Programs

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Traumatology
• Psychology

Background:

• Hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs) aim to reduce future injuries in victims of violence.
• Existing impact assessments are limited by a lack of systematized research on proximal program outcomes.
• There is a need to define and measure outcomes that reflect the immediate goals of HVIPs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To elicit and prioritize outcomes relevant to the proximal goals and activities of HVIPs.
• To identify key areas for measuring the effectiveness of violence intervention programs.
• To broaden the understanding of recovery beyond crime-related metrics.

Main Methods:

• A two-stage Delphi method was employed.
• Seventy-nine participants (HVIP practitioners, coordinators, and researchers) were involved.
• Expert consensus was used to prioritize program outcomes.

Main Results:

• Respondents prioritized outcomes including posttraumatic stress symptoms, beliefs about aggression, coping strategies, and emotional regulation.
• These prioritized outcomes have not been consistently measured with validated tools.
• The findings indicate a shift towards measuring mental health and socioemotional well-being.

Conclusions:

• HVIPs seek to improve and measure mental health and socioemotional outcomes for healing.
• Prioritizing these outcomes broadens the definition of recovery to include psychosocial health.
• Including these measures will enhance the relevance of effectiveness studies and support HVIP development.