Question

What did the Anthony Harris UMASS/Harvard study find out in regards to medical technology?

Answer 1

Improvements in emergency medical services have dramatically suppressed murder rates in the U.S. between 1960-99 even though weapons became more lethal and available during this time, and overall criminal assault rates rose steeply, according to research conducted at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The findings were published in the May 2002 issue of Homicide Studies; an Interdisciplinary & International Journal. The study was done by UMass Amherst sociologists Anthony R. Harris and Gene A. Fisher; Dr. Stephen H. Thomas, of the Harvard Medical School; and David J. Hirsh, of the University of Massachusetts Medical School.The level of violence from assaults in America has risen dramatically over the past 40 to 50 years at the same time that guns have become more lethal and available. But because of the vast improvements in the nation’s access to and quality of emergency medical care – particularly since the Vietnam War – the outcome of these assaults is far less likely to be lethal.People who would have ended up in morgues 20 years ago, are now simply treated and released by a hospital, often in a matter of a few days," Harris says. "And people who would have faced the death penalty 20 years ago are now simply guilty of felonious assault, treated and released by prisons, often in a matter of a few years.

The research finds that overall lethality from criminal assault went down almost 70 percent from 1960-99, with annual declines of between 2.5 percent and 3 percent for firearm and knife assaults, and 3.5 percent and 4 percent a year for bodily and other assaults (such as poisoning or arson). The primary reason for the dropping lethality rate is a set of medical variables, the study says, including the development of 911 services, the rapid stabilization and transport of trauma victims by skilled EMTs, the nationwide proliferation of hospitals into non-urban areas, the development of specialized trauma centers, and county-wide membership within coordinated regional trauma systems.Against a baseline of 1960, we estimate that without this technology, the U.S. would presently be experiencing 45,000 to 70,000 homicides a year instead of an actual 15,000 to 20,000.

Emergency medical technician (EMT) and ambulance technician are terms used in some countries to denote a health care provider of emergency medical services. EMTs are clinicians, trained to respond quickly to emergency situations regarding medical issues, traumatic injuries and accident scenes.