338736
Self-report of injury history and alcohol involvement among injured emergency department patients who report risky drinking
Valerie Strezsak, MS, CCRP,
Department of Emergency Medicine, Injury Prevention Center, Rhode Island Hospital, Brown University, Providence, RI
Janette Baird, PhD,
Department of Emergency Medicine, Injury Prevention Center, Rhode Island Hospital, Brown University, Providence, RI
Christina Lee, PhD,
CPHHD--The Boston Puerto Rican Health Study, Northeastern University, Boston, MA
Michael J. Mello, MD, MPH,
Department of Emergency Medicine, Injury Prevention Center, Rhode Island Hospital, Brown University, Providence, RI
Background/Purpose: Injuries account for one-tenth of the global burden of disease, and alcohol is frequently related to injury occurrence. This analysis seeks to identify the types of injuries reported by injured emergency department (ED) patients who report risky alcohol use and demographic characteristics associated with the odds of reporting an injury related to alcohol use. Methods: This cross-sectional study, which is nested within a larger RCT, enrolled injured ED patients who screened positive for risky alcohol use (WHO’s ASSIST). Participants self-reported past 3-month substance use and past-year injury, including the current ED visit injury. Results: 730 participants (mean age 33, 65% male) completed the questionnaires. The most common causes of past-year injury were falls (57%), physical fights (31%), being physically attacked (22%), and cuts (22%). 51% of participants reported at least one alcohol-related injury in the past year. The most common causes of alcohol-related injury were guns, BB guns, or pellet guns (73.0%), physical fights (68.9%), being physically attacked (59.4%), and being sexually assaulted (55.3%). Younger age and higher alcohol ASSIST score were associated with increased odds of having an alcohol-related injury; sex was not. Conclusions: In this injured ED population with a history of risky alcohol use, alcohol was involved in over half of all past-year injuries, and the most common alcohol-related injuries involved violence. Patients who misuse alcohol and present in the ED with injury are at high risk for gun, interpersonal, and sexual violence-related injuries.
Learning Areas:
Epidemiology
Public health or related research
Learning Objectives:
Identify two types of injury associated with alcohol use among injured emergency department patients
Keyword(s): Violence & Injury Prevention, Alcohol Use
Presenting author's disclosure statement:Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been the coordinator of a federally funded grant focusing on alcohol misuse among injured emergency department patients and am currently a doctoral student in epidemiology studying injury and alcohol misuse.
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.
