Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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To review the literature for options for integrating injury prevention into the role of out-of-hospital emergency medical services (EMS). ⋯ As changes in the market compel health care systems to focus more on prevention, EMS organizations and individual providers may be assuming new injury prevention roles. Some EMS systems in many parts of the country have incorporated PIP into their work. It is necessary, however, to determine which PIP roles are effective and how they will be supported.
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ED injury surveillance requires accurate information about mechanism. This study explored the clinometric properties of an E-code system specifically designed to track ED injuries. ⋯ Injury coding using a truncated E-code system can provide valid and reliable data from the ED. Differences between nurses, physicians, and nosologists in the ability to accurately code using this system were minimal, thus eliminating the need for additional staff and resources.
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To determine: 1) provider behavior in screening for domestic violence (DV) and sexual assault (SA); 2) provider training in DV and SA; 3) provider knowledge of available protocols for DV and SA; and 4) provider perception of barriers to intervention. ⋯ Providers surveyed had received little training in and rarely screen for violence, and there are a range of personal and institutional barriers impeding intervention with victims of SA and DV. Institutional changes to enhance training and support providers working in the front line of this epidemic may improve services for victims of violence.
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1) To determine the prevalence of current alcohol abuse/alcohol dependence (AA/AD) among the full injury range of ED motor vehicle crash (MVC) patients; and 2) compare AA/AD and non-AA/AD patient characteristics. ⋯ Almost 23% of ED MVC patients have current AA/AD; BAC testing does not accurately identify these patients. Intervention strategies must be directed to both admitted and released patients.
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To determine the availability of and sample statewide ED injury information obtained from hospital billing data for the purpose of demonstrating the feasibility of information acquisition for subsequent data linkage. ⋯ Retrospective compilation of multihospital ED billing data to create a statewide ED data sample-with the potential for injury research and probabilistic database linkage-can be accomplished; there are, however, important limitations.