Violently injured patients seen in the emergency department of Barnes-Jewish Hospital: a descriptive study of context, future views and spirituality.

ABSTRACT

UNLABELLED To explore the characteristics of individuals who were evaluated and treated at an urban university medical center emergency room due to violence-related injuries. The study also explored issues of religion and/or spirituality. METHODS: Seventy-three violently injured patients (VIPs) who required hospitalization were systematically interviewed for this study while seeking treatment through the emergency department at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Missouri. The interviews were conducted by the emergency room (ER) chaplain. More than one-third (38%) of these VIPs had previously been arrested for assault. For more than half (52%), this was their first experience with emergency care for a violent injury, while nearly half (48%) reported previous experience with violence. Sixty-two percent of the patients said they vowed to get revenge. Gunshot wounds accounted for almost half (45%) of the injuries. This report provides descriptive data about the characteristics of VIPs who required hospital care after a violence-related attack, the context of the event and provides data about how spirituality/religion issues were used to cope with the aftermath of these attacks. The cycle of violence clearly calls for interventions and solutions involving hospitals and the community.