Characteristics Associated With Community Violence Prevention Programs in US Hospitals: A Cross-Sectional Survey...

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Services Research
• Social Determinants of Health

Background:

• Violence is a significant social determinant of health.
• Hospitals can play a crucial role in addressing violence by tackling its root causes.
• Understanding factors influencing hospital involvement in community violence prevention is key for developing effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate hospital and county-level factors associated with the presence of community violence prevention programs (CVPPs) in U.S. hospitals.
• To determine if county-level homicide rates correlate with the establishment of CVPPs within hospitals.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional study utilizing data from the 2022 American Hospital Association Annual Survey.
• Linked hospital data with U.S. Census Bureau socioeconomic/demographic data and CDC homicide rates.
• Used survey-adjusted logistic regression to analyze associations between CVPP presence and county homicide rates, adjusting for hospital and county characteristics.

Main Results:

• 22.6% of 4,374 surveyed hospitals reported having CVPPs.
• Hospitals with CVPPs were more likely to be nonprofit, larger, urban, and have higher ED visit volumes.
• CVPP presence was not associated with county homicide rates (aOR=1.01); it was linked to nonprofit status, larger size, trauma designation, and lower social deprivation in urban areas.

Conclusions:

• Hospital and community characteristics, rather than homicide rates, are predictive of CVPP presence.
• CVPPs are disproportionately located in larger, urban, well-resourced hospitals.
• There appears to be a misalignment between the placement of CVPPs and areas with the greatest community need for violence prevention.