Background: Patients presenting with fresh trauma are frequently victims of interpersonal violence. Nevertheless, few South African studies have documented the history surrounding such assaults and their management.
Methods: Patients presenting with fresh trauma to the Trauma Unit of Tygerberg Hospital were selected in order to provide a representative sample. Where patients were victims of interpersonal violence, a history of the current and previous assault(s) was taken.
Results: Victims of interpersonal violence often reported that they had been involved in such violence on previous occasions. Nevertheless, these patients had rarely received management from psychosocial services. Patients with a previous history of having been assaulted had a number of distinct characteristics, including female gender and increased substance use.
Conclusions: Trauma has justifiably been described as a recurrent disease. There is an urgent need for effective psychosocial services for victims of interpersonal violence; ideally, this would prevent future multiple hospital admissions.