Abstract
Purpose
Relatively little is known about the prevalence of traumatic brain injury (TBI) among
adolescents who come into contact with the criminal justice system.
Methods
We undertook screening for TBI among newly admitted adolescents in the New York City
jail system using a validated TBI screening tool. A convenience sample of 300 male
and 84 female screenings was examined.
Results
Screening revealed that 50% of male and 49% of female adolescents enter jail with
a history of TBI. Incidence of TBI was assessed using patient health records, and
revealed an incidence of 3,107 TBI per 100,000 person-years.
Conclusions
Elevated prevalence and incidence of TBI among incarcerated adolescents may relate
to criminal justice involvement as well as friction in jail. Given the large representation
of violence as a cause of TBI among our patients, we have begun focus groups with
them to elicit meaningful strategies for living with and avoiding TBI.
Keywords
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References
National TBI estimates: Injury prevention & control. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/statistics.html. Accessed August 28, 2013.
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CHS Monthly Injury Report [internal document]. Among the 1500-2000 monthly injury visits in the NYC Jail system, rates of blow to the head are consistently higher for injuries associated with security staff (as opposed to inmate fights), for adolescents and for patients in solitary confinement.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: February 18, 2014
Accepted:
December 11,
2013
Received:
September 14,
2013
Identification
Copyright
© 2014 Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
