Hospital-based violence intervention programs may positively influence mental health outcomes

Area of Science:

• Trauma Surgery
• Public Health
• Mental Health Research

Background:

• Hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs) offer multidisciplinary support to violently injured patients.
• Longitudinal mental health outcome data for HVIP participants are limited.
• This study investigates the impact of HVIP engagement on long-term mental health quality of life in community violence survivors.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the association between HVIP engagement and long-term mental health-related quality of life in adult survivors of community violence.
• To determine if participation in HVIPs improves mental health outcomes 6 to 12 months post-injury.

Main Methods:

• Prospective nested cohort study involving adult survivors of community violence with moderate to severe injuries (Injury Severity Score ≥9).
• Data collected 6 to 12 months post-injury included Short Form-12 mental and physical health component scores.
• Multivariable linear regression analyzed the association between HVIP engagement and mental health scores.

Main Results:

• Of 98 patients, 17.3% engaged with an HVIP.
• HVIP participants demonstrated significantly higher mean mental health component scores (54) compared to non-participants (41) (p=0.002).
• No significant differences were observed in physical health scores or readmission rates between groups.

Conclusions:

• HVIPs show a potential association with improved long-term mental health outcomes for violently injured patients.
• Findings support increased implementation, funding, and evaluation of HVIPs to mitigate the sequelae of violent injury.