Trauma Services Intervention to Prevent Violence (TSI)

Primary outcome: Research participants and their network contacts will be followed over 6 months to assess whether a social work case management protocol results in reduction of trauma services recidivism and criminal violence arrests.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Skin Injury Due to Violence; Gunshot Wound, Contact
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Social Work Case Management

Detailed Description

Allegheny County, PA continues to suffer between 100-120 homicides each year, with perhaps 2-3 times as many gunshot injuries that require hospitalization. Firearm homicides overwhelmingly affect African American men aged 15-35. Building on prior efforts in violence prevention, the investigators propose to launch a hospital trauma service intervention that will take advantage of a "teachable moment" in the emergency room. All four hospitals providing Level I Trauma services in Allegheny County have agreed to host the program, an evidence-based effort developed by the National Network of Hospital Violence Intervention (NNHVI). Adaptation of the NNHVI model will focus on the social networks of gunshot victims as well as the victims themselves. Intervention efforts will range from job training and mentoring to relocation to different communities. The investigators will offer the opportunity to participate in the research and receive the intervention to all gunshot victims identified in county Level I trauma services. Participants in the research protocol will be asked to recruit their high-risk social network members for the intervention.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 111
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Pennsylvania
    • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15261
      • University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public Health

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 60 years (Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. Age 18+
2. Gunshot victim treated and discharged from Level I trauma facility; or member of social network of gunshot victim who may be high risk of firearm violence -

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Gunshot wound because of suicide attempt
2. Gunshot wound because of non-violent episode (e.g., hunting accident)
3. Unable to participate in research interview because of cognitive deficit
4. Planning to leave community as result of shooting
5. Discharged from trauma service to prison
6. Unable to provide informed consent -

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: Social work intervention; The National Network of Hospital Violence Intervention (NNHVI) suggests that intervening when gunshot victims are receiving treatment in hospital trauma services may be effective in linking high-risk individuals to appropriate case management services, and that this service linkage may lower the risk of further violence. Our adaptation of the NNHVI model will focus on the social networks of gunshot victims as well as the victims themselves. Intervention efforts will range from job training and mentoring to relocation to different communities.

Behavioral: Social Work Case Management; The National Network of Hospital Violence Intervention (NNHVI) suggests that intervening when gunshot victims are receiving treatment in hospital trauma services may be effective in linking high-risk individuals to appropriate case management services, and that this service linkage may lower the risk of further violence. Our adaptation of the NNHVI model will focus on the social networks of gunshot victims as well as the victims themselves. Intervention efforts will range from job training and mentoring to relocation to different communities.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Trauma services recidivism	Readmission to hospital trauma service because of firearm injury	6 months
Arrest for violent crime	Arrests involving criminal violence noted in DA docket	6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Social work case management goals	Educational program enrollment, job training, receipt of drug and alcohol treatment, trauma counseling	6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Pittsburgh
• Collaborators: The Pittsburgh Foundation; Hillman Foundation; RK Mellon Foundation

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• Center for Heath Equity, University of Pittsburgh

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: May 1, 2014
• Primary Completion (Actual): May 1, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): May 1, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 27, 2013
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 29, 2015
• First Posted (Estimate): December 30, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 2, 2018
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 28, 2018
• Last Verified: June 1, 2018

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: trauma; injury; Violence; firearm; guns; homicide
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Wounds and Injuries; Wounds, Penetrating; Wounds, Gunshot
• Other Study ID Numbers: UN2013-67786

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Data will be archived and made available to qualified investigators