Race/ethnicity on firearm & self-injuries during COVID-19 using TQIP data

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Trauma Surgery
• Epidemiology

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic correlated with increased violence, self-harm, and firearm injuries.
• Mental health conditions like depression and anxiety also saw global increases.
• Disparities in injury trends among racial and ethnic groups during this period require examination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze trends in assaults, self-inflicted injuries, and firearm-related injuries.
• To investigate how these trends varied across different racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. during the pandemic.
• To identify associations between injury types and the COVID-19 period, controlling for demographic factors.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the ACS-TQIP database (2018-2021).
• Defined pre-COVID (2018-2019) and COVID (2020-2021) periods.
• Employed univariable and multivariable logistic regressions to assess injury rates, COVID period, sex, race, and ethnicity.

Main Results:

• Assaults and firearm injuries significantly increased during the COVID period, while self-inflicted injuries decreased overall.
• Racial and ethnic minorities, including American Indians, Black or African Americans, and Hispanics, showed higher odds of assaults and firearm injuries.
• Asian American Pacific Islanders and American Indians had higher odds of self-inflicted injuries during the COVID period.

Conclusions:

• The COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately affected certain racial and ethnic minorities regarding assaults, self-inflicted injuries, and firearm-related injuries.
• Findings underscore the urgent need for targeted public health interventions to mitigate these disparities.
• Addressing the specific needs of vulnerable minority populations is crucial for reducing injury-related morbidity and mortality.