A new review of 25 studies examining hospital-based violence intervention programs around the country, published in the scientific journal, Injury, offers the strongest evidence yet that these programs are a powerful public safety tool that, when implemented, “reduce the incidence of violence-related injuries[,] recidivism rates among participants…[as well as] increase employment rates and educational engagement…. [with] cost effectiveness as well as cost savings.” Researchers found that hospital-based violence intervention programs:
- Reduce Violence And Arrests: “HVIPs significantly reduced the incidence of violence-related injuries and recidivism rates among participants… demonstrated a significantly lower recidivism rate of 4.4% in HVIP participants compared to non-participants over an 8-year period… Participants who did not participate in HVIP were nearly twice as likely to return with a violent injury…”
- Increase Employment, Diplomas: “Improvements in psychosocial outcomes were observed, with increased employment rates and educational engagement reported among HVIP participants… 89% of program graduates either obtained employment, received a diploma, or completed general educational development… participants who gained employment were four times more likely to succeed in the intervention… HVIPs not only reduce recidivism but also bolster long-term socio-economic stability through improved employment and education.”
- Save Money: “Implementing HVIPs led to cost effectiveness as well as cost savings from reduced injury recidivism… estimated cost-savings from $82,765 – $4 million across a five-year model…. HVIPs not only enhance clinical outcomes but also extend benefits beyond hospital settings to improve patient employment, mental well-being, and cost savings.”
Momentum For Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Programs Around The Country:
- Virginia Hospitals Expanding Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Programming. For the Virginia Mercury, Charlotte Rene Woods reports on state leaders investing $8.5 million on a dozen hospital-based violence intervention programs around the state
“that provide wraparound services and care for violently injured people … in the hospital while they are recovering physically from violence-induced injuries.”
The hospital programs treat victims of violence “like shootings, stabbings and other forms of assault… [and] while receiving medical care for physical injuries, victims are connected to counseling, case management or other community resources… [to help prevent] re-injury or perpetrating violence themselves.” The Virginia programs have treated more than 8,000 people across the state since the programs first launched in 2019, which has reduced violence and saved money—the hospital systems “estimated that over $82 million in health care costs have also been avoided due to preventing and reducing re-injury rates…[with] about $41 million of that is estimated to be direct savings to the state.” - Ohio’s New Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program Shows Early Promise—“Of [The] Patients Enrolled, None Have Fallen Victim To Gun Violence Since. For WLWT, the NBC News affiliate in Cincinnati, Danielle Dindak reports on the City of Cincinnati’s new program, launched about a year ago, showing promise with the program enrolling 50 patients and “of those 50 that have enrolled, none have fallen victim to gun violence since.”
Dr. Amy Makley, Trauma Medical Director at UC Health, a champion of the program, explained that the trauma surgeons treat “anywhere from 450 to upwards of 500 victims of gun violence a year,” so there is more work to do, but that the significant early adoption rate of the program shows early signs of promise. When a patient enrolls in the comprehensive program, physicians treat their physical wounds while they are then “paired with a violence prevention professional, screened, and connected to resources…to address issues like housing needs, food insecurity, and mental health support.” - New York City Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Programs To “Expand To All Six Of The System’s Level-One Trauma Centers.” The City of New York announced last month that its various hospital-based violence intervention programs—which “ treat over 3,500 patients for violent trauma, about two thirds of whom receive violence interruption, prevention, and community services by HVIP programs”—have now “implemented a unified, multidisciplinary approach to treating victims of violent trauma” across the five participating city hospitals so that they can coordinate and and provide consistent care across the system, and will be “expanding to all six of the public health system’s level-one trauma centers” over the next year.