Cause Of Unintentional Injury Death Research Articles

The characteristics and risk factors of fatal falls among adults aged 60 and above in Southwest China

Falls constitute a leading cause of unintentional injury deaths among older adults. This study aimed to examine the comprehensive characteristics of fatal falls among older individuals in Yunnan Province, China, to highlight the challenges faced in elderly care. A total of 22,798 accidental fall-related deaths were extracted from China's National Disease Surveillance Points System aged 60 and above between 2015 and 2019. Quantitative and textual data were analyzed to assess the incidence rates of initiating factors, locations, symptoms, and overall survival (OS) outcomes after falling. Hypertension emerged as the most significant intrinsic factor, especially among individuals aged between 70 and 79, female older adults, and urban residents (P < 0.001). Home was identified as the most common location where fatal falls occurred (61.19%). The head was the most commonly injured body region (58.75%). The median of OS for all fatal falls was 2 days (0.13, 30), of which deaths occurred within 24 h [9287 (49.36%)]. There were instances where timely discovery after falling did not occur in 625 cases; their median of OS was significantly shorter compared to those discovered promptly after falling (P < 0.001). Targeted interventions focusing on fall prevention and post-fall care are equally crucial for the well-being of older adults.

ChokeSafe: Empowering Children with Life-Saving Choking-Management Skills.

Choking stands as the fourth leading cause of unintentional injury deaths. This research aimed to evaluate the ability of young schoolchildren to grasp and remember choking-management techniques, as well as to compare the effectiveness of instructors. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of choking training on young children. We randomly selected 180 children aged 4-8 years and divided them into a training group (120 children) and a control group (60 children). We evaluated the students' response to a choking incident with a specific scenario one day before, one day after, and two and seven months after the training, as well as once to the control group. Before the training, there was no significant difference between the groups. However, after the training, the training group's scores showed a significant increase compared to their pre-training scores and those of the control group. Even at two- and seven-month post-training, the training group's scores had decreased but remained higher than their pre-training scores and those of the control group. Choking training can benefit young children. Our research highlights the equal importance of both regular classroom teachers and specialized personnel in imparting these essential skills. However, further research is necessary to confirm these observations and explore methods for sustaining the acquired knowledge from the training.

Head Injury Due to Fall from Heights in Pediatric Population of a Middle Resource Country

Objective: One of the serious concerns for public health is unintentional injuries. Falls rank as the second most common cause of unintentional injury deaths globally, after injuries sustained in transportation accidents. The study's goals were to check the mechanisms and severity of the head injury from falls among children. Materials and Methods: A non-randomized retrospective study was conducted and children aged 0 – 12 years (n = 228) undergoing cranial CT guidance for head injury were enrolled. All patients were treated under the supervision of the neurosurgery department. Detailed radiological evaluation was done and recorded on specialized proforma. Results: Among the enrolled patients, mild head injury was noted in 49.1% of children while moderate head injury was noted among 40.4% of children. A total of 72 (31.6%) patients had skull fractures, of which 12 (5.3%) had a thin underlying subdural hemorrhage. Four cases of extradural hemorrhage complicated a skull fracture, and eight cases of isolated Subdural hemorrhage (SDH) were observed without a skull fracture. Of those 48 (21%), radiologically evident diffuse axonal injuries were present, and each of them included high-force injury mechanisms. Conclusion: When children sustain minor trauma, skull fractures, and focal SDH are rather common, although most of the time there are no long-term neurological effects. On the other hand, patients with an equally severe cause of injury were the only ones who experienced diffuse brain injury with significant neurological disability that followed.

Association of prehospital tracheal intubation with outcomes comparing to supraglottic airway device during out-of-hospital cardiac arrest by drowning: nationwide cohort study in Japan

Abstract Background/Introduction Drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury death, which causes more than 500,000 deaths annually worldwide. Several studies have examined the impact of tracheal intubation for outcomes in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients, however few studies examined it in OHCA patients by drowning. Purpose To compare survival outcomes among adults OHCA patients by drowning between tracheal intubation and supraglottic airway device. Methods This study compared the outcome of OHCA patients by drowning according to the airway management using Japanese nationwide, population-based registry (All-Japan Utstein Registry). From 2014 to 2020, consecutive adult OHCA patients were included. Patients who received tracheal intubation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) were matched with patients treated with supraglottic airway device on the basis propensity scores in a 1:1 ratio, with a 0.2 caliper width. Propensity score was calculated by logistic regression model using following variables; year, prefectural preference of ETI use, age, sex, witnessed status, those who witnessed (By family, citizen, EMS, others), AED use, bystander-initiated CPR, prehospital involvement of physician, defibrillation by EMS, administration of adrenaline, time from call to CPR, first rhythm documented by EMS. The outcome measures were return of spontaneous circulation, survival at one month, and favorable neurological outcome defined as cerebral performance status 1 or 2. Results Of the 11, 703 eligible patients, 4467 (38.2%) and 7236 (61.8%) received tracheal intubation and supraglottic airway device during CPR, respectively. After propensity score matching, 3566 patients in each cohort were matched. The return of spontaneous circulation was higher in those with tracheal intubation compared with those with supraglottic airway device: 207/3566 (5.8%) versus 167/3566 (4.7%) (odds ratio 1.25, 95% confidence interval[CI] 1.02 to 1.55). There was no difference between the groups in one-month survival and favorable neurological outcome: 32/3566 (0.90%) versus 34/3566 (0.95%) (odds ratio 0.94, 95% CI 0.58 to 1.53), and 9/3566 (0.25%) versus 8/3566 (0.22%) (odds ratio 1.13, 95% CI 0.43 to 2.92), respectively. Conclusions In the propensity score matched study for adult OHCA by drowning, tracheal intubation was associated with the return of spontaneous circulation, whereas it was not associated with survival and favorable neurological outcome at one month compared to those with supraglottic airway device. Further studies such as to investigate the heterogeneity of the effect of intubation during the resuscitation might be mandated for the improvement of the outcome among the OHCA patients by drowning.Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest outcomes

Investigating the spatial clustering of drowning events in the United Kingdom: A geospatial cross-sectional study

Globally, drowning is the third leading cause of unintentional injury death, accounting for 7% of all injury-related deaths. This study aimed to examine the spatial clustering in UK drowning incidents. Data were obtained from the Water Incident Database (WAID) (1/1/2012–31/12/19). We examined spatial clustering of intentional and unintentional drownings using a density-based spatial clustering of applications with the noise method (DBSCAN). Intentional and unintentional events were delineated to establish thresholds for cluster identification for moderate, high and very high priority areas respectively, all within a 500-m radius (i.e., 5–7 min walk) of the water network. We identified 2 very high priority (minPts 8), 5 high priority (minPts 6) and 21 moderate priority (minimum points [minPts] 4) areas for unintentional drowning. This study also identified 4 very high priority (minPts 16), 16 high priority (minPts 8) and 36 moderate priority (minPts 4) areas for intentional drownings. Our findings serve to identify priority spatial locations, which provide important foundations for drowning prevention interventions. Prevention efforts should now consider the wider determinants of drowning in these areas, including accounting for the evident spatial patterns in drowning events. Our study addresses key priorities of United Nations and World Health Organisation's drowning prevention guidelines.

A decomposition of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on changes in the motor vehicle collision related mortality in Alabama

Background/ObjectiveMotor vehicle collisions are the leading cause of unintentional injury death in Alabama and at various points during the COVID-19 pandemic there were documented increases in the following risk driving behaviors: speeding, driving under the influence, and seat belt citations. Thus, the objective was to characterize the overall motor vehicle collision (MVC)-related mortality rate in Alabama and the contribution of each component over the first two years of the pandemic compared to before the pandemic by three different road classes: urban arterials, rural arterials, and all other road classes. MethodsMVC data were derived from the Alabama eCrash database, an electronic crash reporting system used by police officers across the state. Data on vehicle miles traveled each year were collected from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration estimates of traffic volume trends. MVC-related mortality in Alabama was the primary outcome and year of MVC was the exposure. The novel decomposition method broke down population mortality rate into four parts: deaths per MVC injury, injury per MVC, MVC per vehicle miles traveled (VMT), and VMT per population. Poisson models with scaled deviance were used to estimate rate ratios of each component. Relative contribution (RC) of each component was calculated by taking the absolute value of the component’s beta coefficient and dividing by the sum of the absolute values of all components' beta coefficients. Models were stratified by road class. ResultsAcross all road classes combined, there were no significant changes to the overall MVC-related mortality rate (per population) and its components when comparing 2020–2022 to 2017–2019; this was due to the increased case fatality rate (CFR) being offset by decreases in the VMT rate and MVC injury rate. In 2020, among rural arterials a non-significant increased mortality rate was offset by a decreased VMT rate (RR 0.91, 95% CI 0.84–0.98, RC 19.2%) and MVC injury rate (RR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.82–0.97, RC: 22.2%) when compared to 2017–2019. For non-arterials, a non-significant decreased MVC mortality rate was observed in 2020 when compared to 2017–2019 (RR 0.86, 95% CI 0.71–1.03). When considering 2021–2022 versus 2020, the only significant component for any road class was a decreased MVC injury rate for non-arterials (RR: 0.90,95% CI: 0.89–0.93) but this was offset by an increased MVC rate and CFR, resulting in no significant change to the mortality rate (per population). ConclusionsIn a state with one of the highest MVC-related mortality rates in the country, despite decreases in VMTs per population and injuries per MVC, the MVC mortality rate per population did not change during the pandemic due in part to the contributions of an increase in the case fatality rate. Future research should determine whether the increase in CFR was associated with risky driving behaviors during the pandemic.

Balancing new technology: Virtual reality for balance measurement case report.

Falling and the inability to maintain balance are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths globally. There are a number of chronic and acute conditions characterized by balance difficulties, including neurological diseases, and sport injuries. Therefore, methods to monitor and quantify balance are critical for clinical decision-making regarding risk management and balance rehabilitation. New advances in virtual reality (VR) technology has identified VR as a novel therapeutic platform. VRSway is a VR application that uses sensors attached to a virtual reality headset, and handheld remote controllers for measurement and analysis of postural stability by measuring changes in spatial location relative to the center of mass and calculates various postural stability indexes. This case report evaluates balance measures in 2 healthy participants with no previous history of balance disorders using the VRSway software application and compares to output generated by the current gold standard of balance measurement, force platform technology. The primary objective of this case study was to validate the VRSway stability score for evaluation of balance. Here, we present posturography measures of the VRSway in comparison with force plate readouts in 2 healthy participants. Body Sway measurements were recorded simultaneously in both the force plate and VRSway systems. Data calculated by proprietary software is highly correlative to the data generated by force plates for each of the following measurements for participant-1 and participant-2, respectively: Sway index (r1 = 0.985, P < .001; r2 = 0.970, P < .001), total displacement (r1 = 0.982, P < .001; r2 = 0.935, P < .001), center of pressure mean velocity (r1 = 0.982, P < .001; r2 = 0.935, P < .001), ellipse radius 1 (r1 = 0.979, P < .001; r2 = 0.965, P < .001), ellipse radius 2 (r1 = 0.982, P < .001; r2 = 0.969, P < .001), and ellipse area (r1 = 0.983, P < .001; r2 = 0.969, P < .001). Data from this case study suggest that VRSway measurements are highly correlated with output from force plate technology posing that VRSway is a novel approach to evaluate balance measures with VR. More research is required to understand possible uses of VR-based use for balance measurement in a larger and more diverse cohort.

Post-Mortem Findings in Deaths due to Drowning, a Study on Autopsied Cases at Government Medical College Hospital Jammu: A Retrospective Study

Background: Drowning is a significant public health problem globally. It is the third leading cause of unintentionalinjury death, the post-mortem diagnosis of drowning is achallenge to medico-legal experts as the exact cause ofdeathsdue to drowning is not very clearly understood.Method: 100 dead bodies aged between 10-75 years death due to drowning (60 male and 40 females) were studiedby autopsy. The places of drowning external and internal post-mortem findings were recorded in both sexes.Results: 60 drowning deaths occurred in Lakes Rivers 12 in wells, 24 in house tanks, 4 in swimming pools. Inthe study of external post-mortem 41 cases had froth around mouth /nostrils, 4 cadaveric spasm, 25 mud/sandybody, 2 cases had mud/sandy in nails, 38 had sign of asphyxia, 50 had sign of injury. In internal findings of postmortem,34 had forth larynx trachea, 57 had mud/sand/salt in larynx, 83 had voluminous lungs, 23 had stomachcontent water, 24 had stomach content food, 10 had injury.Conclusion: The present pragmatic study of autopsy will certainly help to medico-legal expert to differentiatehomicide and suicide in drowning deaths.

“Tiny Cargo, Big Deal! Abróchame Bien, Cuídame Bien”, an emergency department-based intervention to promote child passenger safety: Protocol for an adaptive randomized trial among caregivers of 6-month through 10-year-old children

BackgroundMotor vehicle collisions remain a leading cause of unintentional injury deaths among children in the United States despite the proven effectiveness of child restraint systems (CRS). Laws and public education campaigns have fallen short of ensuring child passenger safety guideline adherence (i.e., correct use of a size-appropriate CRS in the back seat on every trip) across the population. MethodsThis randomized controlled trial will test the efficacy of Tiny Cargo, Big Deal!/Abróchame Bien, Cuídame Bien (TCBD/ABCB), a precision prevention intervention, grounded in Self-Determination Theory, that integrates motivational interviewing and tailored eHealth components to promote child passenger safety guideline adherence over the course of one year. Using in-person and remote recruitment, we seek to enroll 900 English or Spanish-speaking adult caregivers of children 6 months to 10 years of age who sought emergency or urgent care and screened non-adherent to child passenger safety guidelines. Eligible caregivers provide informed consent and complete a baseline assessment before randomization. At 6 months, only intervention group participants who remain non-adherent are re-randomized to standard or enhanced intervention. We assess caregiver-submitted photographs throughout the year using the Child Passenger Safety Score and provide personalized feedback. The primary outcome of guideline adherence is assessed at 12-months. The trial has been registered with clinicaltrials.gov: NCT04238247. ImplicationsWe hypothesize TCBD/ABCB will be more efficacious than enhanced usual care for promoting guideline adherence at 12-month follow-up. The intervention is expected to benefit children in families who have not responded to legal requirements and population-based strategies for child passenger safety.

Terrain Perception Using Wearable Parrot-Inspired Companion Robot, KiliRo.

Research indicates that deaths due to fall incidents are the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in the world. Death by fall due to a person texting or talking on mobile phones while walking, impaired vision, unexpected terrain changes, low balance, weakness, and chronic conditions has increased drastically over the past few decades. Particularly, unexpected terrain changes would many times lead to severe injuries and sometimes death even in healthy individuals. To tackle this problem, a warning system to alert the person of the imminent danger of a fall can be developed. This paper describes a solution for such a warning system used in our bio-inspired wearable pet robot, KiliRo. It is a terrain perception system used to classify the terrain based on visual features obtained from processing the images captured by a camera and notify the wearer of terrain changes while walking. The parrot-inspired KiliRo robot can twist its head and the camera up to 180 degrees to obtain visual feedback for classification. Feature extraction is followed by K-nearest neighbor for terrain classification. Experiments were conducted to establish the efficacy and validity of the proposed approach in classifying terrain changes. The results indicate an accuracy of over 95% across five terrain types, namely pedestrian pathway, road, grass, interior, and staircase.

Drowning prevention counselling by paediatricians to educate caregivers on water safety.

Drowning is the leading cause of unintentional injury death for children 1-4 years of age in the USA. Texas, a southeastern state, is disproportionately burdened by paediatric drowning. The aim of this project was to increase drowning prevention counselling provided during well-child visits to families with children aged 0-10 years. We developed and implemented a water safety counselling programme for paediatricians to impart to families during well child, urgent care and ED visits for 0-10year age group. Physicians completed and self-reported demographic, pre- and post-intervention, counselling rate and project evaluation surveys, while caregivers completed post-intervention surveys only. Both physicians and caregivers were surveyed on evidence-based drowning prevention strategies (four-sided fencing of pools, touch supervision, life jackets and swim/cardio-pulmonary resuscitation classes). Thirty-three physicians and 1934 caregivers participated in the project. Physicians demonstrated statistically significant improvement in discussing drowning prevention with patients (3.5 vs. 4 on Likert scale; P=0.002) in 2018 versus 2019. The counselling frequency in primary care settings increased from 54% to 70% from year 1 to 2. 100% of physicians correctly identified the best drowning prevention strategy and 80.6% of caregivers reported learning new water safety information in 2019 versus 68.8% in 2018 (P value < 0.001). This water safety education programme demonstrated increased drowning prevention counselling during well-child visits. The counselling was effective as demonstrated by increased caregiver acquisition of new water safety information. Paediatricians had adequate drowning prevention knowledge; an efficient counselling strategy helped them impart this knowledge to their patients.

A 13-Year Study of Fatal Falls From Height in Northern Tunisia.

Falls from height are a major cause of unintentional injury death, resulting in high disability and mortality. We investigated the characteristics of fatal falls and their relationship with intentionality, injury patterns, and death on impact. In this retrospective study, we examined 545 cases of fatal falls from height that underwent autopsy in the forensic department of the Charles Nicolle hospital of Tunis (Tunisia) between January 2008 and December 2020. Cases were reviewed in terms of demographics, fall characteristics, and autopsy findings. The population was predominately male (86.6%). Four hundred twenty-one (77.3%) originated from accidents, 120 (22%) were found to be suicidal, with 4 homicide cases. A notable decline in cases was noticed following the Jasmine revolution, 2011 (R squared = 0.8). The mean height of falls was 8 m. Higher falls were associated with a set of organ-specific injuries. Organ injury pattern did not differ based on intentionality. Female victims were 2.4 times more likely to sustain pelvic injuries than males. The majority of victims deceased before reaching health care structures. Death on impact was strongly associated with higher falls, cranial impact, and organ-specific injuries, including cardiac, pulmonary, and skull injuries.Falls from height are in many cases preventable. A clearly defined fall safety policy, strict implementation of evidence-based interventions, efficient allocation of resources, and raising safety awareness must to be urgently implemented. Understanding patterns of injury and the factors that influence death on impact may be of further interest in the prevention and management of survivors in the acute period.

Pediatric motor vehicle related deaths in King County, Washington: Using Child Death Review to create meaningful change for traffic safety

IntroductionMotor vehicle collisions were the leading cause of unintentional injury deaths in children aged 1–17 years in the USA from 2011 to 2019 and was the fourth leading cause of death in King County, WA in children aged 0–17 in 2020. MethodsCases included children 0–17 years of age who resided in King County Washington State and died between January 1, 2016 and December 31, 2020 due to motor vehicle collisions as identified by the King County Medical Examiner's Office and reviewed through the county's Child Death Review (CDR) process. Cases were then scrubbed of unique identifiers and presented to the Washington Traffic Safety Commission to identify additional priorities and strategies for prevention. ResultsCDR identified 22 traffic related deaths in pediatrics 0–17 years of age between 2016 and 2020. Of the deaths, 68.18% were male, 13.64% (n = 3) were American Indian/Alaskan Native, and 72.73% (n = 16) of cases were in South King County/Vashon Island. 59.09% (n = 13) were passengers in the vehicle. The most common contributing factor (59.09%, n = 13) was speed followed by alcohol and/or drugs 45.45% (n = 10), and unrestrained individuals 27.27% (n = 6). The CDR team developed recommendations for implementation to improve safety. ConclusionThe local CDR process and secondary review with state-wide partners can support the identification of critical prevention efforts and lead to lasting traffic safety changes to contribute to preventing future traffic related serious injuries and deaths. This combined process can be used as a model practice by other local CDRs for the identification and implementation of traffic safety prevention measures.

Nurses as Agents of Safety: Identifying unique contributors to falls in hospitalized Adult Hematology Patients: A Retrospective Study

Falls continue to be a major safety concern in acute care settings and are the second cause of unintentional injury deaths globally [1].The World Health Organization defines a fall as an event that results in a person coming to a rest inadvertently on the ground or floor or other lower level. Prevention of a fall is a safety measure, which is significantly affected by nursing care according to the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators (NDNQI) [2].This retrospective review of one hundred medical records was conducted to assess if there are unique contributors to falls in hospitalized adult hematology patients. The study sample was drawn from the parent study that examined the impact of video-based educational intervention on the occurrence of falls among hematology patients hospitalized for the management of cancer treatment and complications. Patients with cancer are at an increased risk of sustaining a fall related injury due to impaired functional status, low blood counts, treatment related fatigue, frailty, and poor nutritional status [3,4]. Simple logistic regression between continuous variables and dependent variable, and cross-tabulation between categorical variables and the dependent variable was used to analyze study results.The study revealed that there was a significant relationship between fall incident and fall risk assessment scores on admission; X2 (1) = 6.153, p = .013, Cramer’s V = .256.

Saving fall-injured older adults from depressive symptoms: The mediating role of social participation

Falls are the second primary cause of unintentional injury deaths globally. Prior studies found that fall incidences are associated with depressive symptoms among older adults, which could reversely lead to repeated fall incidences. However, few have investigated the role of social interventions in saving fall-injured older adults from experiencing depressive symptoms among older adults. Using the Chinese Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) 2011-2018 data and multiple levels of fixed-effect analysis, this study examined the potential mediating role of social participation in alternating the effect of fall injuries on depressive symptoms. For the first time, this study specified the fall-injured older adults among those who had fall incidences. It also implemented the current literature by removing the bias caused by unobservable confounding variables at provincial and city levels. The descriptive results show that 22.2% and 20.6% of rural (n=4,972) and urban (n=3,258) older adults (65+), respectively, experienced fall incidences, among whom 45.1% needed one or more times of medical treatment. The fixed-effect results show that for urban older adults, social participation accounted for partial effects (17.2%) of fall injuries on their depressive symptoms. For rural older adults, fall injuries are significantly associated with more depressive symptoms, but social participation no longer functions as the mediator. Findings from this study emphasize the necessity of collecting efforts from multiple levels to improve the social engagement of urban older adults who had fall injuries. Future studies could further specify what types of social participation would be more helpful in buffering the intervention effects.

Persistent Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Fatal Unintentional Drowning Rates Among Persons Aged ≤29 Years - United States, 1999-2019.

During 1999-2019, a total of 81,947 unintentional drowning deaths occurred in the United States (1). Drowning is one of the three leading causes of unintentional injury death among persons aged ≤29 years and results in more deaths among children aged 1-4 years than any other cause except birth defects (2). Drowning death rates have decreased since 1990 (declining by 57% worldwide and by 32% in the United States) (3). However, because of racial/ethnic disparities in drowning risk, rates remain high among certain racial/ethnic groups, particularly American Indian or Alaska Native (AI/AN) persons and Black or African-American (Black) persons (4). To assess whether decreasing drowning death rates have been accompanied by reductions in racial/ethnic disparities, and to further describe these disparities by age group and setting, CDC analyzed U.S. mortality data during 1999-2019. The drowning death rate among persons aged ≤29 years was 1.3 per 100,000 population. The rate per 100,000 among AI/AN persons (2.5) and Black persons (1.8) was higher than among all other racial/ethnic groups and was 2.0 and 1.5 times higher than among White persons (1.2). Racial/ethnic disparities in drowning death rates did not significantly decline for most groups, and the disparity in rates among Black persons compared with White persons increased significantly from 2005-2019. Drowning death rates are associated with persistent and concerning racial/ethnic disparities. A better understanding of the factors that contribute to drowning disparities is needed. Implementing and evaluating community-based interventions, including those promoting basic swimming and water safety skills, among disproportionately affected racial/ethnic groups could help reduce drowning disparities.

Adolescent Water Safety Behaviors, Skills, Training and Their Association with Risk-Taking Behaviors and Risk and Protective Factors.

Background: Drowning remains the third leading cause of unintentional injury death for adolescents in the United States. Aims: This study described adolescent swimming lessons, behaviors (life jacket wear while boating) and comfort (swimming in deep water) and their association with protective and risk factors and risk-taking behaviors reported by Washington State students in Grades 8, 10, 12, primarily comprised of youth ages 13 to 18 years. Methods: This study used the 2014 Washington State Healthy Youth Survey (HYS), a publicly available dataset. Results: Most students reported having had swimming lessons, using life jackets, and comfort in deep water. Differences reflected racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities: being White or Caucasian, speaking English at home and higher maternal education. Lowest rates of comfort in deep water were among Hispanics or Latino/Latinas followed by Blacks or African Americans. Greater life jacket wear while boating was reported by females, those in lower grades and negatively associated with alcohol consumption, sexual activity and texting while driving. Having had swimming lessons was associated with fewer risk-taking behaviors. Conclusions: The HYS was useful to benchmark and identify factors associated with drowning risk among adolescents. It suggests a need to reframe approaches to promote water safety to adolescents and their families. Multivariate analysis of this data could identify the key determinants amongst the racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities noted and provide stronger estimation of risk-taking and protective behaviors.

Profile of Deaths Due to Drowning among Autopsies Conducted at Autopsy Center of Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi

Introduction: Drowningis the 3rd leading cause of unintentional injury death, accounting for 7% of all injury-related deaths. The global burden and death from drowning is found in all economies and regions. In this study we aim to find out the demographic profile of drowning among cases brought for autopsy in the Department of FMT, RIMS, Ranchi. Material and Method: This Observational study was carried out in the Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences, Ranchi, during the period from January 2019 to December 2019, wherein a total of 3342 autopsies were conducted out of which 109 cases were of Drowning. Results: Drowning was found to occur more commonly in rural areas (58.7%). Males are more prone to drowning (75.2%). Most common age group involved was found to be 31–40 years. Lakes were the most common place of occurrence (38.5%). Incidence of married females (66.7%) was slightly greater than married males (63.4%). Drowning was found to be most commonly accidental in nature (35.8%). Familial and financial problems (26.6%) along with depression (26.6%) accounted for most of the cases of drowning.

A Serious Game on the First-Aid Procedure in Choking Scenarios: Design and Evaluation Study.

BackgroundChoking is one of the causes of unintentional injury death. Gaining the knowledge of the first-aid procedure that has to be applied in case of choking can increase the chances of survival of persons with choking. Serious games can be a good channel for educating people about choking scenarios and the actions to be taken to save the persons with choking.ObjectiveThe objective of this study is to present and evaluate the effectiveness of a serious game designed to prevent choking and to promote the first-aid procedure that needs to be applied in case of choking.MethodsIn this study, we present a serious game as a set of minigames that reproduces the main steps of the protocol for the first-aid performed in choking. In the proposed game, the player acquires the role of a helper who has to save the person in a choking emergency by applying the main steps of the protocol. Time and score restrictions are imposed to pass each minigame. To test this game, we performed a pilot study with 48 high school students. Different tests were performed to assess the students’ preferences and their knowledge on choking before and after playing the proposed game. The obtained results were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U test when a grade variable was involved and by using Fisher exact test when 2 categorical variables were involved.ResultsThe findings of our study showed that the players enjoyed the game. No statistical differences were detected when considering the gender of the player, their preferences for video games, or their previous experience in choking emergencies. By comparing the knowledge of these students before and after playing the game, we found that all the indicators of the knowledge about how to act in case of a choking emergency were improved through this serious game.ConclusionsThe findings of our study show that the proposed game is a good strategy for promoting and teaching first-aid procedures in choking emergencies to nonexperts in this field.

Miami-Dade County Juvenile Weapons Offenders Program (Jwop): A Potential Model To Reduce Firearm Crime Recidivism Nation-Wide

In 2016, the most recent year with national statistics, the annual number of people killed or injured by firearm in the United States was 133,853. While much has been said in the developing world about the lost economic and developmental potential of youth in countries without basic health and educational infrastructure, in the United States homicide by firearm is the third leading cause of injury and death amongst youth aged 15-24, costing billions annually in combined medical and work loss costs. Factoring in suicide by firearm, gun related fatalities account for the number one cause of unintentional injury death in this age group.