Black youth face greater risk of firearm violence and reinjury after a nonfatal shooting. Surviving a nonfatal shooting often results in chronic pain, disability, PTSD, depression, and anxiety, yet Black youth are less likely to utilize needed healthcare. Additionally, most nonfatal shooting cases remain unsolved, but solving them supports healing and disrupts cycles of violence within Black communities. The Indianapolis Nonfatal Shooting Advocate Program aims to reduce inequalities for survivors by connecting victims to mental health services, improving case resolution, and reducing risk of reinjury and offending. Evaluating the program’s effectiveness and implementation for youth under 18 is necessary to determine its ability to improve youth outcomes. With this award, Magee will assess the impact of the Advocate Program on behavioral and social outcomes among Black youth ages 12-25, identify implementation determinants of the Advocate Program for youth under 18 years of age, and develop consensus based guidelines for implementing adolescent and youth focused nonfatal shooting victim supports. Magee will develop expertise in causal inference and data-driven predictive modeling through mentorship from Kerri Rassan, Senior Research Scientist at Yale School of Public Health. Matthew Aalsma, Professor of Pediatrics at Indiana University, will provide mentorship in implementation science.
Does a nonfatal shooting victim support program improve behavioral and social outcomes for Black youth?
