Jillian Peterson, director of the Violence Prevention Project Research Center, recently published a study in the journal Injury Prevention with colleagues from Hennepin County Medical Center (HCMC).
The researchers combined data from a Twin Cities trauma registry with homicide records to better understand the connection between violent injuries and later homicide involvement.
The study found that one in 50 patients admitted to the HCMC trauma center for a violent injury later appeared in homicide records, either as a victim or a perpetrator.
Patients with a prior trauma admission had 16.5 times greater odds of later homicide involvement, with firearm injuries posing the highest risk. Researchers also found that 31% of individuals later involved in a homicide had previously been hospitalized for a violent injury.
The findings suggest that hospital-based violence intervention programs could play an important role in reducing future homicides by identifying and supporting high-risk patients early. Read the full article: Prior violent injury and subsequent homicide involvement: Evidence from a linked trauma registry study or listen on Minnesota Public Radio.