UC Irvine Western Journal of Emergency Medicine: Integrating Emergency Care with Population Health Title Behaviors that Influence Crash Injury Risk in Latino Adolescent Males: Analysis of the 2005 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) Publication Date

Federico Vaca, Craig Anderson, Lawrence Deluca, Jamil Bitar, Kimberly Leeson, Samuel Keim
2008 unpublished
Violent behavior by patients is one of many occupational hazards faced by health care workers. Emergency department (ED) personnel are at high risk for patients carrying weapons, or exhibiting disruptive behavior or psychotic disorders. When systematic approaches to violent persons do not work, public safety officers (PSO) require additional means of elevated force to control dangerous behavior. The use of the electrical stun gun (TASER) offers an option that is more effective than baton but
more » ... s lethal than a firearm. Its use has recently been criticized because of the association with deaths in custody. Methods: We describe an approach to control workplace violence in a health care environment that includes staff education for early identification of potentially violent persons and initial approaches but allows for the use of TASER in select situations. We report the incidents of use of force in a Level 1 trauma center university hospital with 40,000 ED census. Results: There were 107 PRE (12 month) and 149 POST (24 month) uses of force. During the POST, 92% were in clinical, 5 % in general public and 3% in exterior areas. Most involved patients (93%). In clinical areas, 56% were in the ED, 25 % inpatient and 11% outpatient areas. There were 30 displays and seven additional uses of the TASER, including two touches and five firings of probes, 77% for male subjects and 70% for psychiatric or ED patients. All displays or uses were reviewed in detail by multidisciplinary group and determined to be appropriate. There were no serious injuries in either safety personnel or patients that resulted from the use of the TASER. PSOs determined that the display of the TASER was able to de-escalate violent situations without the use of more elevated force. Conclusions: A comprehensive approach to workplace violence that allows for the selected use of the TASER and requires mandatory reviews of all uses can be effectively implemented to help to control dangerous situations in heath care environments. 18 Risk Perception of US-Mexico Border Crossers Background: This study focused on risk perception of US-Mexico border crossers and builds on current research programs at The University of Arizona. No published studies have addressed specific risk processes (defined as perceived risk, intra-border crosser risk communications, Mexican government originated risk communications, and risk control actions) in US-Mexico border crossers. Objectives: This project seeks to describe, analyze, and interpret border-crosser risk processes; and develop a
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