image: 349 assault-injured, plus 250 accident/medical patients, 14-24 years of age, with confirmed six-month drug use. view more
Credit: KIRSTY CHALLEN, B.SC., MBCHB, MRES, PH.D., LANCASHIRE TEACHING HOSPITALS, UNITED KINGDOM
DES PLAINES, IL -- Achieving high follow-up rates for a difficult-to-track violently injured emergency department population is feasible. That is the finding of a study to be published in the November 2018 issue of Academic Emergency Medicine (AEM), a journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM).
The Flint Youth Injury (FYI) Study, a prospective study, demonstrated that tracking hard to reach, assault-injured, drug-using youth populations is possible through the use of established contact strategies and a variety of interview locations.
The lead author of the study is Jessica Roche, MPH, a research specialist at the University of Michigan Injury Center. The findings of the study are discussed in a recent AEM podcast, Tracking Assault-Injured, Drug-Using Youth in Longitudinal Research.
Roche, et al., suggest that future studies focusing on hard-to-reach populations should factor in the time needed to achieve successful follow-up retention and the number and types of contacts needed to ensure the continued involvement of as many participants as possible.
The authors further suggest that newer developing methods of contacting participants through advancements in technology be explored, suggesting that using these methods to reduce attrition may improve the quality of hospital- and ED-based violence prevention programs and help promote evidence-based best practices.
David G. Jacobs, MD, medical director, F. H. "Sammy" Ross, Jr. Trauma Center and chief, Trauma Section, Division of Acute Care Surgery, Department of Surgery at Carolinas Medical Center, commented:
"This important paper dashes the myth that long-term follow-up in a trauma patient population is unachievable. Not only does it set the benchmark for what can be achieved in terms of follow-up in this difficult patient population, it, more importantly, outlines the methods and resources that we all must be willing to employ as we seek to honestly evaluate the long-term impact of our own violence prevention efforts."
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ABOUT ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE
Academic Emergency Medicine, the monthly journal of Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, features the best in peer-reviewed, cutting-edge original research relevant to the practice and investigation of emergency care. The above study is published open access and can be downloaded by following the DOI link: https://doi.org/10.1111/acem.13495. Journalists wishing to interview the authors may contact Stacey Roseen at sroseen@saem.org.
ABOUT THE SOCIETY FOR ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE
SAEM is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to the improvement of care of the acutely ill and injured patient by leading the advancement of academic emergency medicine through education and research, advocacy, and professional development. To learn more, visit saem.org.
Journal
Academic Emergency Medicine