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Lauren A. Magee
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The Hidden Consequences of Exposure to Firearm Violence
Dr. Lauren Magee's interdisciplinary research intersects the fields of public health and criminal justice and focuses on how social determinants of health, poverty, and neighborhood dynamics influence violence and other health outcomes among adolescents and young adults. Her research takes a mixed-methods approach by leveraging police and health care data linked at the individual level and through qualitative interviews with victims to identify opportunities for intervention, with specific emphasis on individuals with mental illness, substance use disorders, and those involved in firearm violence.
Firearm injuries surpassed vehicle-related accidents as the leading cause of death among children and youth in the US in 2020. Little research has focused on nonfatal firearm injuries, despite being four times more prevalent than firearm fatalities. Individuals who survive a firearm injury experience increases in adverse mental health outcomes, such as posttraumatic stress disorder, anxiety disorder, and depression disorder. Beyond the survivor, family members also suffer increased subsequent mental health needs and communities more broadly are affected. This research examines mental health outcomes among family members of firearm injury survivors and explores engagement with mental health services among survivors.
Dr. Magee's translation of research into establishing resources for the victims of gun violence and their family members is another excellent example of how IUPUI's faculty members are TRANSLATING their RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE.
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Item Age Disparities of Non-Fatal Shooting Victims in Official vs. Media Reports 2020 – 2022 Indianapolis, Indiana.(2023-01-17) Spivey, Erin; Crawford, Jara; Kaur, Amarpreet; Magee, Lauren; Grommon, EricBACKGROUND Trends in the victimology of non-fatal shootings in Indianapolis reported upon by the media differ from official records, with possible implications on the preventative measures taken by the community and officials. OBJECTIVE Examine disparities between media reporting of non-fatal shooting victim ages and official records. KEY FINDINGS Since data collection of media reporting on gun violence victims in Indianapolis began in 2020, 46% of non-fatal shooting victims were reported on by the media. Of those, 9% of victims had a known age. From 2020 through 2022, juvenile victims of non-fatal shootings were 5.8 times more likely to be reported upon than adult victims. An average of 35% of juvenile victims were reported about in the media from 2020 through 2022 while 6% of adult victims were reported upon. The media was 5.3 times more likely to report on juvenile victims than adult victims in 2022 – 32% of juvenile victims were reported on while 6% of adult victims were reported on in 2022. Official records show approximately 89% of non-fatal shooting victims in the past 3 years are adults while 11% are juveniles. Among media reports of non-fatal shooting victims when age was known, 58% were adults and 42% were juveniles.Item Changing epidemiology of firearm injury: a cohort study of non-fatal firearm victimisation before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, Indianapolis, Indiana(British Medical Journal, 2022-03-01) Magee, Lauren A.; Lucas, Bailee; Fortenberry, J. Dennis; Medicine, School of MedicineObjective To examine victimisation rates, geographic patterns and neighbourhood characteristics associated with non-fatal firearm injury rates before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design A retrospective cohort study. Setting City of Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, 1 January 2017–30 June 2021. Participants Intentional non-fatal firearm injury victims from Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department records. The study included information on 2578 non-fatal firearm injury victims between ages 0 and 77 years. Of these victims, 82.5% were male and 77.4% were black. Primary and secondary outcome measures Rates of non-fatal firearm injuries per 100 000 population by victim age, race, sex and incident motive. Prepandemic and peripandemic non-fatal firearm injury rates. Results Non-fatal shooting rates increased 8.60%, from 57.0 per 100 000 person-years in prepandemic years to 65.6 per 100 000 person-years during the pandemic (p<0.001). Rates of female victims (15.2 vs 23.8 per 100,000; p<0.001) and older victims (91.3 vs 120.4 per 100,000; p<0.001) increased significantly during the pandemic compared with the prepandemic period. Neighbourhoods with higher levels of structural disadvantage (IRR: 1.157, 95% CI 1.012 to 1.324) and prepandemic firearm injury rates (IRR: 1.001, 95% CI 1.001 to 1.002) was positively associated with higher rates of non-fatal firearm injuries during the pandemic, adjusting for neighbourhood characteristics. Conclusions Non-fatal firearm injuries increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly among female and older victims. Efforts are needed to expand and rethink current firearm prevention efforts that both address the diversification of victimisation and the larger societal trauma of firearm violence.Item The Difference Between Living and Dying: Victim Characteristics and Motive Among Nonfatal Shootings and Gun Homicides(Springer, 2017-12-01) Hipple, Natalie Kroovand; Magee, Lauren A.; School of Public and Environmental AffairsUsing both official and unofficial data sources, researchers examined nonfatal (n = 617) and fatal shooting (n = 159) victim characteristics over an 18-month period in Indianapolis. This research revealed that the typical shooting victim was male, non-White, almost 29 years old, had been arrested prior to inclusion in this study, and had been shot more than once. Interestingly, this research supports the notion that nonfatal shooting and homicide victims are different, especially as they relate to victim age, gunshot wound severity, and shooting motive. It highlights the need for better gun violence data collection beyond what currently exists. Striving for improved, more comprehensive cross-sector data collection has implications beyond just police policy and practice to include public health and prevention efforts.Item Differences in Mortality Rates of Gunshot Victims: The Influence of Neighborhood Social Processes(Sage, 2021-09-24) Magee, Lauren A.Firearm violence is considered a public health crisis in the United States. Firearm violence spatially concentrates within neighborhoods and is associated with community factors; however, little is understood about the geographic differences in gunshot wound mortality and associated neighborhood social processes. Applying a public health approach through the Haddon’s Matrix, the results demonstrate systematic differences in social and physical features associated with gunshot mortality. These findings have important implications to improve neighborhood physical and social conditions, police transporting gunshot victims, and police-public health partnerships to improve data collection on nonfatal shootings and shots fired.Item Domestic Violence Shooting Trends January 1 – December 31, 2022 Indianapolis, Indiana.(2023-02-02) Crawford, Jara; Spivey, Erin; Kaur, Amarpreet; Magee, Lauren; Grommon, EricBACKGROUND There has been a well-documented global increase in incidence of domestic violence over recent years. This report seeks to find if this increase is reflected in reports in the Indianapolis-area media. OBJECTIVE Examine trends in reports of domestic violence shootings from January 1st, 2020 to December 31st, 2022. NOTE There are different definitions of domestic violence and which party(s) involved are counted as victims. The IGVP reports incidents based on media reports, which may not match other definitions. KEY FINDINGS There was a total of 57 distinct incidents of domestic violence-related gun violence reported, with 15 in 2020, 19 in 2021, and 23 in 2022. The incidents involved a total of 86 victims; 20 in 2020, 32 in 2021, and 34 in 2022. There was a 27% year-over-year increase in incidents and a 60% increase in victim numbers from 2020 to 2021. From 2021 to 2022, there was a 21% year-over-year increase in incidents with a 6% increase in victims from 2021 to 2022. 54 of the reported 86 domestic violence-related shootings, or 63%, were fatal compared with only 40% of reported shootings overall, indicating that domestic violence-related shootings may be fatal a greater percentage of the time than gun violence in other situations.Item Dual public health crises: The overlap of drug overdose and firearm injury in Indianapolis, Indiana, 2018–2020(BMC, 2022-07) Magee, Lauren A.; Ray, Bradley; Huynh, Philip; O'Donnell, Daniel; Ranney, Megan L.; School of Public and Environmental AffairsBackground Drug overdose and firearm injury are two of the United States (US) most unrelenting public health crises, both of which have been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic. Programs and policies typically focus on each epidemic, alone, which may produce less efficient interventions if overlap does exist. The objective is to examine whether drug overdose correlates with and is associated with firearm injury at the census tract level while controlling for neighborhood characteristics. Methods An ecological study of census tracts in Indianapolis, Indiana from 2018 to 2020. Population rates per 100,000 and census tracts with the highest overlap of overdose and firearm injury were identified based on spatial clusters. Bivariate association between census tract characteristic and drug overdose and firearm violence rate within spatial clusters. Zero-inflated negative binominal regression was used to estimate if the drug overdose activity is associated with higher future firearm injury. Results In high overdose—high firearm injury census tracts, rates of firearm injury and drug overdose are two times higher compared to city wide rates. Indicators of structural disadvantage and structural racism are higher in high overdose—high firearm injury census tracts compared to city-wide averages. Drug overdoses are associated with higher rates of firearm injury in the following year (IRR: 1.004, 95% CI 1.001, 1.007, p < 0.05), adjusting for census tract characteristics and spatial dependence. Conclusions Drug overdose and firearm injury co-spatially concentrate within census tracts. Moreover, drug overdoses are associated with future firearm injury. Interventions to reduce firearm injuries and drug overdoses should be a co-response in high drug overdose—high firearm injury communities.Item The Extent and Nature of Gang Crime(Oxford UP, 2018) Magee, Lauren A.; Melde, Chris; School of Public and Environmental AffairsThe purpose of this chapter is to review the evidence on the association between gangs, gang members, and crime, and to describe whether or not there is anything unique about the nature of offending attributable to gangs.Item Fatal and Non-Fatal Shootings Monthly Summary April 2023 Indianapolis, Indiana.(2023-05-05) Spivey, Erin; Crawford, Jara; Kaur, Amarpreet; Magee, Lauren; Grommon, EricBACKGROUND As firearm violence continues to be a focus within media and public safety entities, the monthly trends noted will continue to direct discussions and preventative actions. OBJECTIVE Examine trending in type, time, location, and demographics of fatal and non-fatal shooting incidents and victims in Indianapolis during April 2023. KEY FINDINGS April 2023 saw a 10% decrease in the number of shootings over April 2022 and a 23% decrease in the total number of victims. From March to April, a 9% decrease in incidents and 15% decrease in victims was noted. Non-fatal shootings made up 54% of incidents in April while fatal shootings made up 46%. A higher percentage of shootings were fatal in April than any other month in 2023. Among adults, more were fatally wounded than were non-fatally wounded. April 20, 2023 saw the largest number of shootings and victims in a single day thus far in 2023. Noted trends: An arrest was made or person of interest detained in 21% of shootings. 12% of shootings involved multiple victims. 12% of victims arrived at the hospital on their own. 12% stemmed from a dispute not domestic related. 9% of shootings occurred during a crime in progress.Item Fatal and Non-Fatal Shootings Monthly Summary February 2023 Indianapolis, Indiana.(2023-03-06) Spivey, Erin; Crawford, Jara; Kaur, Amarpreet; Magee, Lauren; Grommon, EricBACKGROUND As firearm violence continues to be a focus within media and public safety entities, the monthly trends noted will continue to direct discussions and preventative actions. OBJECTIVE Examine trending in type, time, location, and demographics of fatal and non-fatal shooting incidents and victims in Indianapolis during February 2023. KEY FINDINGS February 2023 saw an 84% increase in the number of shootings over February 2022 and a 93% increase in the total number of victims. From January to February, an 18% decrease in incidents and a 13% decrease in victims was noted. Non-fatal shootings made up 71% of incidents in February while fatal shootings made up 29%. While a decrease in the number of fatal shootings of juveniles occurred in February, the number of non-fatal shootings involving juveniles showed an increase. 63% of shootings occurred at a residence/apartment. Noted trends: An arrest was made in 24% of shootings. 20% of shootings involved multiple victims. 22% each of the incidents stemmed from a dispute, including a domestic dispute. In 7% of incidents, the shooting occurred during a crime in progress and in another 7%, the victim arrived at the hospital on their own.Item Fatal and Non-Fatal Shootings Monthly Summary January 2023 Indianapolis, Indiana.(2023-02-02) Spivey, Erin; Crawford, Jara; Kaur, Amarpreet; Magee, Lauren; Grommon, EricBACKGROUND As firearm violence continues to be a focus within media and public safety entities, the monthly trends noted will continue to direct discussions and preventative actions. OBJECTIVE Examine trending in type, time, location, and demographics of fatal and non-fatal shooting incidents and victims in Indianapolis during January 2023. KEY FINDINGS January 2023 saw a 44% increase in the number of shootings over January 2022 and a 53% increase in the total number of victims. From December to January, a 17% increase in incidents and 29% increase in victims was noted. Non-fatal shootings made up 67% of incidents in January while fatal shootings made up 33%. A higher percentage of fatalities involved juveniles in January than nearly any month in 2022. In total, 18% of fatal shootings involved a juvenile victim while 82% were adults (among victims with ages reported). Noted trends: In 16% of incidents, the victim arrived at the hospital on their own. Multiple victims were involved in 14% of January incidents. 9% of incidents were reported as domestic disputes.