Homeless in America: Injuries Treated in US Emergency Departments, 2007–2011

Details

• Personal Author:
  Graves JM ; Mackelprang JL ; Rivara FP
• Description:
  Despite being a high-risk population, epidemiological research about injuries among homeless individuals is limited. We sought to describe injury characteristics among individuals identified as homeless in the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS), and to compare them to age- and sex-matched controls. We searched text narratives for all patients with product-related injuries who presented to NEISS emergency departments from 2007 to 2011 to identify homeless cases (N = 268). A random sample of 2680 age- and sex-matched controls was identified for the same time period. The incident location differed between groups, and the mention of substance use was significantly more common among homeless cases than controls. The body part injured differed significantly between cases and controls for all age groups, with the exception of older adults. Among homeless cases, injuries occurred most frequently to the lower extremities, and sprains/strains, contusions/abrasions and burns were most common. Additional research on injury among homeless individuals is warranted in order to identify meaningful preventive strategies for this at-risk population. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Age Factors Emergency Responders Epidemiology Healthcare Disparities Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Age Factors Author Keywords: Homelessness Emergency Department Emergency Treatment Health Disparities Injuries Injury Surveillance Programs
• ISSN:
  1745-7300
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  289-297
• Volume:
  21
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20056918
• Citation:
  Int J Inj Contr Saf Promot 2014 Jul; 21(3):289-297
• Contact Point Address:
  Jessica L. Mackelprang, Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA
• Email:
  jlmack11@uw.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• Performing Organization:
  University of Washington
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  International Journal of Injury Control and Safety Promotion
• End Date:
  20250630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:7ca0fe03886d554b83877188bdfa7a5d1ab8531202256f0bda408dad7828b7195c0af97b2ca1edd06880b1da7a924ccdb22e01df5b09db2fd96559a89956da09
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/214411/cdc_214411_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 469.23 KB ]