A Transdisciplinary Analysis of Domestic Violence Homicides in Harris County, Texas (2016-2020)

Abstract

A transdisciplinary, community-engaged approach enables researchers to connect knowledge generation with domestic violence homicide prevention. This case study utilizes medical examiner data from Harris County, Texas (2016–2020, n = 2,517) to identify and examine correlates of domestic violence homicides. The research team identified more than double the number of domestic violence homicides than had been flagged in the original data. Geospatial analysis identified unequal distribution of homicide across communities and significant gender-based disparities in domestic violence homicides. Transdisciplinary approaches can be used to accurately identify domestic violence homicides and provide a foundation to develop multi-level interventions.