AHE Gun Violence Prevention Grants Program: CHOP

topic area

Chronic Disease and Injury Prevention

grant recipient

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

about

Since 2020, over 20% of CHOP’s Violence Intervention Program (VIP) clients have entered the program due to firearm injuries, a substantial increase from prior years. Programs like this one — known as HVIPs — are embedded within healthcare institutions and provide individual, community-focused case management to support recovery.

However, there is a pressing need to understand how socioecological factors infuence injury risk and recovery and to enable evidence-informed service delivery and advocacy. This research project aims to identify data refecting neighborhood-level resources and examine their association with pediatric violent injury and recovery among young people and families who receive care from the CHOP VIP. A greater understanding of the relationship between neighborhood characteristics and resources — such as access to mental health resources and measures of child opportunity — and recovery after violence may help guide HVIP services and allow programs to anticipate client needs to tailor post-injury care based on neighborhood resources, which may in turn increase client engagement, acceptability, and satisfaction.

status

Analysis

impact

This study has helped the VIP better understand how to provide effective care to its participants. This research-to-practice pipeline ensures the VIP is evidence-informed and better able to elucidate and understand the barriers and facilitators of HVIP implementation locally in Philadelphia and beyond.

looking ahead

The findings from this grant will allow CHOP VIP to improve their understanding how characteristics of the residential environment are associated with injury recovery, and to better tailor case management services to provide more responsive and timely recovery support for patients and their families. As pediatric HVIPs become more widespread, it is important to share learnings and advocate for system-based changes.

This work will also inform CHOP VIP’s advocacy efforts, by highlighting the urgency of resource access for youth and their families with real-world data that reflects the Philadelphia landscape and experience.