Abstract
In the US, there are no national statistics on encountering a dead body, which can be viewed as a measure of community health
and a stressful life event. Participants for an HIV prevention intervention targeting drug users were recruited in areas of
inner-city Baltimore, Maryland. Nine hundred and fifty-one respondents, most with a history of drug use, were asked “have
you ever found a dead body?” and 17.0% reported they had. Leading causes of death were: violence (37%), natural causes (22.2%),
drug overdose (21.6%), accidental death (3.1%), and suicide (2.5%). In multivariate logistic models, respondents with longer
history of drug use and more roles in a drug economy were more likely to be exposed to a dead body. The study results suggest
that this population has a high level of experiences with mortality associated with violence and drugs. To obtain a better
understanding of community health, future studies should assess not only morbidity and mortality, but also how death and illness
is experienced by the community.
and a stressful life event. Participants for an HIV prevention intervention targeting drug users were recruited in areas of
inner-city Baltimore, Maryland. Nine hundred and fifty-one respondents, most with a history of drug use, were asked “have
you ever found a dead body?” and 17.0% reported they had. Leading causes of death were: violence (37%), natural causes (22.2%),
drug overdose (21.6%), accidental death (3.1%), and suicide (2.5%). In multivariate logistic models, respondents with longer
history of drug use and more roles in a drug economy were more likely to be exposed to a dead body. The study results suggest
that this population has a high level of experiences with mortality associated with violence and drugs. To obtain a better
understanding of community health, future studies should assess not only morbidity and mortality, but also how death and illness
is experienced by the community.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Original Paper
- Pages 1-4
- DOI 10.1007/s10597-012-9492-3
- Authors
- Carl Latkin, Department of Health, Behavior and Society, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 North Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Cui Yang, Department of Health, Behavior and Society, The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2213 McELderry Street, 2nd Floor, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
- Britt Ehrhardt, Institutes of Health Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Building 61, Room 100 10 Cloister Court, Bethesda, MD 20892, USA
- Alicia Hulbert, Department of Oncology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 1650 Orleans St., CRBI Rm 541, Baltimore, MD 21231, USA
- Journal Community Mental Health Journal
- Online ISSN 1573-2789
- Print ISSN 0010-3853