Gun violence among young adults with a juvenile crime record in North Carolina: Implications for firearm restrictions based on age and risk.

Youth who acquire a juvenile crime record may be at increased risk of perpetrating gun violence as adults. North Carolina and 22 other states permit young adults who were adjudicated by a juvenile court - even for some felony-equivalent offenses - to legally access firearms. Effectiveness of gun restrictions for adults with juvenile crime histories has not been systematically studied.

Characterizing Opioid Overdoses Using Emergency Medical Services Data : A Case Definition Algorithm Enhanced by Machine Learning.

Objectives: Tracking nonfatal overdoses in the escalating opioid overdose epidemic is important but challenging. The objective of this study was to create an innovative case definition of opioid overdose in North Carolina emergency medical services (EMS) data, with flexible methodology for application to other states' data.

Methods: This study used de-identified North Carolina EMS encounter data from 2010-2015 for patients aged >12 years to develop a case definition of opioid overdose using an expert knowledge, rule-based algorithm reflecting whether key variables identified drug use/poisoning or overdose or whether the patient received naloxone.

Association of Restrictive Housing During Incarceration With Mortality After Release.

Importance: Restrictive housing, otherwise known as solitary confinement, during incarceration is associated with poor health outcomes.

Objective: To characterize the association of restrictive housing with reincarceration and mortality after release.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This retrospective cohort study included 229 274 individuals who were incarcerated and released from the North Carolina prison system from January 2000 to December 2015.