198527 Violence Screening Tool Pilot in a Pediatric Emergency Department

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Kyle Finnegan , Department of Pediatrics, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, CT
Kevin T. Borrup, JD, MPA , Injury Prevention Center, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, CT
Courtney Thomas , School of Medicine, University of Connecticut, Hartford, CT
James F. Parker, MD , Department of Pediatrics, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, CT
Hassan Saleheen, MBBS MPH , Injury Prevention Center, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, CT
Sharon R. Smith, MD , Department of Pediatrics, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, Hartford, CT
Background: Youth violence is a significant public health concern. Many children are treated in EDs, and the ED may be a good location to identify at-risk youth for future interventions.

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility of screening children for exposure to violence in the pediatric ED.

Design/Methods: Two questionnaires were piloted in the ED: The Violence Prevention Emergency Tool (VPET) and Violence Exposure Scale for Children (VEX-R). Both were completed by children aged 8-17 years with parents in another room.

Results: Of the 100 children enrolled, the mean age was 12.9 years (SD 2.8), 42% girls, 48% Hispanic, and 13% Black. Mean time to complete VPET was 9.05 minutes (range 4-17), and VEX 4.9 minutes (range 3-12). VPET results: 13% reported 2 or more times in past year to victim of violence items, 38% reported 2 or more episodes of witness to violence, and few gave positive responses to perpetrator of violence items. 76.2% reported feeling safe at home and 73.2% felt safe at school. VEX results: Only 1 child reported lots of times for victim items, and about 11% a few times for other victim items. 8% reported lots of times and as high as 30% a few times to witness items.

Conclusions: It is feasible to screen for exposure to violence in the pediatric ED.

Learning Objectives:
Design a violence screening protocol usable in an ED setting. Compare responses between two simultaneously administered violence exposure assessment tools.

Keywords: Youth Violence, Intervention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have presented at poster sessions at APHA in 2007 and 2008. I gave an oral presentation at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine in 2007 on the issue of bullying behavior toward children with special needs.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

See more of: Violence Prevention and Control Posters
See more of: Injury Control and Emergency Health Services