Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Violence is one of the leading causes of death among youth ages 14 to 24. Hospital- and emergency department (ED)-based violence prevention programs are increasingly becoming a critical part of public health efforts; however, evaluation of prevention efforts is needed to create evidence-based best practices. Retention of study participants is key to evaluations, although little literature exists regarding optimizing follow-up methods for violently injured youth. This study aims to describe the methods for retention in youth violence studies and the characteristics of hard-to-reach participants. ⋯ The FYI study demonstrated that achieving high follow-up rates for a difficult-to-track, violently-injured ED population is feasible through the use of established contact strategies and a variety of interview locations. Results have implications for follow-up strategies planned as part of other violence prevention studies.
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Observational Study
Evaluation of a Screening Tool for Child Sex Trafficking Among Patients With High-Risk Chief Complaints in a Pediatric Emergency Department.
The objective was to apply and evaluate a screening tool to identify victims of child sex trafficking (CST) in a pediatric emergency department (PED) population. ⋯ Applied to an inner-city PED population of 203 participants with high-risk chief complaints, the screening tool has high sensitivity and high NPV. This makes it appropriate for an initial screening to rule out CST in this high-risk population. Applicability for broader use and additional practice settings are warranted given the significant positivity rate among those presenting with high-risk concerns.