Hospital-Based Victim Assistance for Physically Injured Crime Victims in Charleston, South Carolina, 1990-1991 (ICPSR 6719)

Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)

Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection

Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose

The central purpose of this investigation was to provide descriptive information about hospitalized crime victims. More specifically, this study had five objectives: (1) To provide an estimate of the number of seriously physically injured crime victims at the Medical University of South Carolina, (2) To develop an information packet for crime victims and families that would inform them about crime victims' compensation, social services, and victim assistance agencies/services for which they might qualify, as well as psychological services to be provided by this project, (3) For those individuals who were identified as crime victims, to assess specific information regarding the characteristics of the crime, characteristics of the victims, characteristics of the type and extent of injury, victims' knowledge of victim services and the criminal justice system, and psychological symptoms related to the crime, (4) To develop a Model Hospital Victim Assistance Program (MHVAP) to provide information, advocacy, crisis counseling, and post-discharge referral services to hospitalized crime victims and their families, and (5) To conduct a brief follow-up assessment with a sample of crime victims having been offered MHVAP services to determine: (a) their criminal justice system contact, progress, and satisfaction, (b) their utilization of social services including mental health and crime victim compensation, and (c) their satisfaction with MHVAP services.

Study Design View help for Study Design

From July 1, 1990, to June 30, 1991, the project staff obtained daily reports from the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Admissions Office regarding new admissions to specified units. For each new admission, charge nurses in each of the cooperating units were contacted by a staff member and asked if the current medical condition of the newly-admitted patient permitted a brief interview. For each patient whose condition permitted an interview, a staff member asked the patient if he or she would be willing to answer a few short questions about the events that produced the injuries. If a patient granted permission, the staff member administered the Criminal Victimization Screening Schedule (CVSS) and asked permission to review the relevant portion of the patient's medical chart. Patients were also asked if they would be willing to participate in interviews about their victimization. Ideally, the CVSS was administered to patients described above after one to two days following their admission. If they were not available after two days following admission (e.g., patient was in a coma), they were interviewed as soon as they were able to complete the procedure. For patients who had no prospect of ever being able to complete the CVSS or who died as a result of their injuries, an attempt was made to contact a close family member. If possible, family members were interviewed using a revised version of the CVSS. Patients who were identified as crime victims and who agreed to participate were administered the Criminal Victimization Interview (CVI) while hospitalized. At the conclusion of the interview, the Model Hospital Victim Assistance Program (MHVAP) developed for this project provided victims with information, assisted with referral to the prosecutor's office and/or police in their jurisdiction, provided a brief psychological intervention when indicated, and assisted with establishing future outpatient psychological follow-up. Other remaining sessions consisted of working directly with the victim to contact the appropriate criminal justice and victim service officials in their home districts, assisting with appropriate outpatient psychological follow-up for those individuals who would benefit from such services, and instructing victims in the techniques of specific crime-related psychological interventions. The Follow-Up Criminal Victimization Interview (FUCVI) was administered to 30 crime victims who had completed the CVI and who were successfully located three months after discharge from the hospital. The crime victims who were contacted for a follow-up interview also had to meet the following criteria: the crime occurred in the state of South Carolina, the victim was a resident of South Carolina at the time of the crime, and the victim resided in South Carolina at the time that the CVI was administered. Eligible victims were contacted for a telephone interview. The interviews lasted approximately 15 to 20 minutes.

Sample View help for Sample

A total of 2,402 admissions to the surgery and trauma services at the Medical University of South Carolina Medical Center were screened for a possible crime-related hospital admission. Of these, 233 patients (9.7 percent) had injuries determined to be directly related to a criminal victimization. After leaving out patients who were unable or unwilling to be included in the survey, 99 patients remained

Universe View help for Universe

Adult patients aged 18 years or older hospitalized at the Medical University of South Carolina for crime-related physical injuries between July 1, 1990, and June 30, 1991.

Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation

Data Source View help for Data Source

Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)

Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables

The Criminal Victimization Interview (CVI), a structured interview schedule developed for this study, assessed patient demographic variables, information about the nature of the crime, knowledge of victim rights and services, knowledge of the criminal justice system, and psychological symptoms. The Follow-Up Criminal Victimization Interview (FUCVI) was administered three months after the CVI to provide information on respondents' physical health status, utilization of and satisfaction with victim services, satisfaction with the criminal justice system, knowledge of victim's rights, victim services, and the criminal justice system, and psychological symptoms.

Response Rates View help for Response Rates

Of the 233 crime victims identified, 81 of the crime victims were discharged from the surgical and trauma units within 24 hours of admission and, therefore, were discharged too quickly to be interviewed. In addition, 26 of the identified victims were too sick to participate, 12 died on the units, and 3 were unavailable for the interview. Only 12 patients out of the 111 patients contacted refused to participate. Thus, 99 hospitalized crime victims were contacted and agreed to participate in this study (89 percent consent rate). There were 30 participants who were successfully located three months after discharge from the hospital who participated in the follow-up telephone interview.

Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales

Some Likert-type scales were used.

Original Release Date View help for Original Release Date

1996-07-13

Version History View help for Version History