A Hospital-based Intervention for Youth Injured Through Violence
Virginia Commonwealth University
Summary
The firearm violence epidemic is a major public health problem, especially for youth. Every day in the US, approximately 100 people fall casualty to firearms through forms of violence, such as homicide, suicide, and unintentional or accidental injuries. Among youth, firearm violence remains the leading cause of death, and each year the rate of firearm-related mortality is increasing. Beyond the significant and devastating cost of human life, firearm violence is an enormous economic burden to the US, which totals an estimated $229 billion annually. In urban communities with high rates of firearm-related violence, firearm-related emergency department visits are extremely draining on the hospital system. At the national level, firearm-related injuries account for $2.8 billion annually in emergency department care each.
Description
In the state of Virginia, the rates of firearm-related fatalities are over seven times higher than the national rates, and the pandemic has made this worse, as we have seen a 52% increase in firearm-related hospitalizations. With the surge in firearm violence seen nationwide, there is a dire need for new, innovative, and effective interventions for preventing firearm-related violence, injury, and mortality among youth. Hospital-based brief violence interventions can result in long-term improvement. There is a plethora of research supporting that brief violence interventions can result in long-…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 13–17 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- No
Youth participant inclusion criteria: * Aged 13-17 years old * English speaking Youth participant exclusion criteria: * Youth aged \<13 years and \>17 years old * Non-English speaking * Youth of caregivers younger than 18 years old Adult/caregiver participant inclusion criteria: \- Aged 18 years or older Adult/caregiver participant exclusion criteria: \- Aged younger than 18 years
Interventions
- OtherElevate Virtual Reality (VR)
Elevate VR is a brief violence intervention program founded on the principles of positive psychology, motivational goal setting (via gameplay), psychoeducation, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and dialectical behavioral therapy. Elevate VR includes five psychoeducational topic modules creating a 40-minute brief violence intervention. This duration is similar to well-established brief hospital-based violence interventions.
- OtherAssessement completion
Questionnaires will be administered to assess Firearm-related violence ( The Gun Violence Questionnaire), Violent crime (Violent Crime Assessment) and Firearm-related attitudes and beliefs (Firearm Aggression Questionnaire)
Location
- Virginia Commonwealth UniversityRichmond, Virginia