title: Pediatric violence-related injuries in Boston: results of a city-wide emergency department surveillance program.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Violence-related injuries among children are common, but age-based incidence data are not easily available.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To describe injuries due to violence in a population-based case series of children and to estimate injury incidence.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective surveillance of children residing in Boston, Mass, who received pediatric emergency department treatment for violence-related injury during a 4-year period beginning April 15, 1995.
  
  
  METHODS
  Pediatric emergency departments in Boston.
  
  
  METHODS
  Children aged 3 through 18 years who came to a hospital emergency department between April 1995 and April 1999. Violence-related injuries were defined as those resulting from a situation of conflict involving 2 or more persons with intent to harm, as assessed by health care personnel caring for the patients. Self-inflicted injuries and injuries caused by child abuse (including any injury resulting from a conflict with a parent or guardian) were excluded. Homicides of Boston children aged 3 through 18 years who were killed during the study period were included based on police data.
  
  
  METHODS
  Population-based violence-related injury rates.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 2035 injury-related visits caused by violence, which reflects a rate of 52.7 (95% confidence interval, 50.5-54.9) per 10 000 person-years. Most injuries were relatively minor; 6.4% of visits resulted in admission. The youth violence-related injury rate in Boston declined at an average rate of 12% annually during the period studied.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Pediatric emergency department monitoring of violence-related injury in Boston suggests that childhood injuries due to violence declined during the late 1990s.
authors.affiliation: Pediatric and Adolescent Health Research Center, the Floating Hospital for Children's National Medical Center, New England Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA. rsege@lifespan.org
authors.forename: Robert D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Sege
authors.forename: Sigmund
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kharasch
authors.forename: Cathy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Perron
authors.forename: Stacey
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Supran
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: O'Malley
authors.forename: Wenjun
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Stone
mesh_terms: D000046:Academic Medical Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D001900:Boston / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006769:Hospitals, General / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D011159:Population Surveillance; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014504:Urban Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data* / Q000639:trends; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*