Hospitalizations Resulting from Assault (Three-Year Average)

Related Indicators:

• Assault-Hospitalizations 10-19 yrs [view data]

Life Area:

Civic Engagement

Definition:

The assault hospitalization rate is based on the number of discharges for hospitalizations resulting from an assault among youth ages 10 through 19 years per 100,000 population in this age group.

Because the number of children hospitalized for assault injuries is very low in many counties in New York State, the assault hospitalization rates are presented as three-year averages. Three-year averaging improves the reliability of the data in counties with small populations where slight variations in the numbers of children hospitalized for assault injuries can result in large fluctuations in their annual rates.

Significance:

The rate of hospitalizations resulting from an assault is an important indicator of the relative safety of the home and community environments in which children are being raised.

Promoting safe communities by reducing violent and abusive behavior has been identified as a priority area by both National Healthy People 2010 (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2000) and Communities Working Together for a Healthier New York (NYS Public Health Council, 1996).

Findings:

• In New York State, an average of 1,833 youth between the ages of 10 and 19 years were hospitalized due to an assault during the years 2003-2005 for an average annual rate of 69.7 hospitalizations per 100,000. During 2008-2010, both the number and rate of such hospitalizations decreased to 1,700 and 66.1, respectively.
• During 2008-2010, most (about 70 percent) of New York State's hospitalizations due to assault occurred among youth living in New York City. In 2008-2010, an average 120.2 per 100,000 New York City youth ages 10 through 19 years were hospitalized as a result of an assault compared to 32.1 per 100,000 youth in Rest of State. Among youth residing in Rest of State, the 2008-2010 rates are higher than the rates recorded in 2003-2005 (32.1 and 31.6, respectively) while among youth residing in New York City, rates have improved between these two time periods (120.2 and 129.4, respectively).

References:

New York State Public Health Council. 1996. Communities Working Together for a Healthier New York. Albany, NY: NYS Public Health Council.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2000. Healthy People 2010 (Conference Edition in Two Volumes), Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.