Criminal correlates of injury-related emergency department recidivism

To investigate criminal and high-risk lifestyle factors that predict emergency department (ED) recidivism, a longitudinal (8-year) cohort study of ED trauma patients was conducted. Study patients provided risk and lifestyle behavior information via semi-structured interview. ED revisit and re-injury rates for 1995-2003 were acquired through hospital record review. Lifetime criminal arrest data were obtained for each study subject via record linkage from PublicData.com, an internet-based service.