An Epidemiologic Investigation of Homicides at Fort Carson, Colorado: Summary of Findings

Abstract

In response to an apparent clustering of homicides at Fort Carson, Colorado, the U.S. Army Public Health Command (formerly the U.S. Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine) Behavioral and Social Health Outcomes Program conducted a multidisciplinary epidemiologic consultation to identify factors contributing to violent behavior among soldiers at Fort Carson. This article summarizes the findings of the epidemiologic consultation report as provided to the Secretary of the Army and the Fort Carson Senior Mission Commander and released in its entirety publicly July 2009 and elaborates on the mixed-methods analytic approach used to study a complex behavioral issue at the community level. To aid in answering the key study questions, six study arms were designed and carried out: (1) index case analysis, (2) confinee interviews, (3) analysis of installation-level trends, (4) retrospective cohort analysis, (5) soldier focus groups and interviews, and (6) aggression risk factors survey. Although not conclusive, the findings suggest a combination of individual, unit, and environmental factors converged to increase the risk of violent behaviors, which made clustering of negative outcomes more likely.