TUESDAY, April 14, 2026 (HealthDay News) -- Nearly two-thirds of patients with firearm injuries are treated at trauma centers with violence intervention programs (VIPs), but only about one in five receive these services, according to a study published online April 7 in Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
Sara Larosiliere, from Quinnipiac University in Hamden, Connecticut, and colleagues compared patient populations between facilities that offer VIP services and those that do not. The analysis included 15,455 patients being treated for firearm violence.
The researchers found that 64.3 percent of patients were treated at VIP facilities. Patients at non-VIP facilities were older (mean age, 30.3 versus 29.8 years) and more often Black (64.3 versus 60.7 percent). Within VIP facilities, only 18.5 percent of patients received VIP services. These patients were younger (mean age, 27.84 versus 30.25 years), more often Black (72.8 versus 58.0 percent), and more often using Medicaid (55.2 versus 45.4 percent). The strongest predictor of VIP service use was assault-related injury (odds ratio, 3.00).
"Violence intervention programs are reaching the patients they are designed to serve, but not at a consistent level," Larosiliere said in a statement. "Improving access and integration of these programs could have a meaningful impact on recovery and outcomes after injury."