ED Visit Rate for Assault 4.5 Visits Per 1,000 People Per Year

THURSDAY, Oct. 12, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- The emergency department visit rate for assault was 4.5 visits per 1,000 people per year during 2019 to 2021, according to an October data brief published by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Health Statistics.

Danielle Davis, M.P.H., and Loredana Santo, M.D., M.P.H., from the National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville, Maryland, present assault-related emergency department visit (excluding sexual assault) rates by selected demographic and hospital characteristics using data from the National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey (NHAMCS).

The researchers found that the overall emergency department visit rate for assault was 4.5 visits per 1,000 people per year during 2019 to 2021, with the highest rates seen for those aged 18 to 24 and 25 to 44 years (9.2 and 7.7, respectively), which declined with age. Compared with all other race and ethnicity groups, the emergency department visit rate for assault was highest for Black non-Hispanic people. For people injured by assault, Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance Program, or other state-based program was the most common primary expected source of payment for emergency department visits. People who visited hospitals in metropolitan statistical areas had a higher emergency department visit rate for assault than nonmetropolitan statistical areas (4.9 versus 2.0).

"This report, based on the most recent estimates from NHAMCS on emergency department visits made by people with injuries related to assault, highlights differences in emergency department use by demographic and hospital characteristics," the authors write.

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