Poster #87 - Piloting a Nonfatal Advocacy and Support Program for survivors of firearm injury

• In Event: Saturday Poster Luncheon

Abstract

Survivors of firearm injuries suffer adverse physical and emotional consequences due to their injury, yet few programs exist within the community to connect survivors with needed resources. We study the impacts of the Nonfatal Advocacy program, a program implemented in partnership with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) and community-advocates who have been directly impacted by firearm violence. The Nonfatal Advocacy program provides outreach, screens for social determinants of health (SDOH), posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)/depressive symptoms, and connects survivors of firearm injuries to needed resources to decrease future reinjury, increase case clearance rates, and improve health outcomes. Each survivor is contacted by phone, email, in-person (if requested and safe), and/or letter between May 2022 – June 2024. We used a difference-in-differences strategy to compare outcomes in re-injury outcomes, health outcomes, and case clearance based on survivor engagement between fatal and nonfatal survivors of firearm injury. Preliminary findings indicate case clearance rates increased from 17.9% to 26.7% during program enrollment.

Author

• Susan T Parker, Northwestern University
  Presenting Author