Child Occupant Research Articles

Immigration, Poverty, and Socioeconomic Inequality, edited by David Card and Steven Raphael. 2013. Series: National Poverty Center Series on Poverty and Public Policy. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. 469 + xiv. ISBN: 978-0-87154-498-8, $55.

Immigration, Poverty, and Socioeconomic Inequality, edited by David Card and Steven Raphael. 2013. Series: National Poverty Center Series on Poverty and Public Policy. New York: Russell Sage Foundation. 469 + xiv. ISBN: 978-0-87154-498-8, $55.

A Study on the Comparison for the Child Occupant Safety from Frontal Crash Test Protocol

A Study on the Comparison for the Child Occupant Safety from Frontal Crash Test Protocol

Characteristics of Farm Equipment-Related Crashes Associated With Injury in Children and Adolescents on Farm Equipment.

Operating or riding on farm equipment is one of the leading causes of farm-related injuries and fatalities among children and adolescents. The aim of this study is to examine environment, crash, vehicle, and occupant characteristics and the probability of injury, given a crash, in youth under age 18 on farm equipment. Data from the Departments of Transportation on farm equipment-related crashes across 9 Midwestern states from 2005-2010 were used. Odds ratios were calculated using logistic regression to assess the relationship between environment, crash, vehicle, and occupant characteristics and the probability of injury, given a crash. A total of 434 farm equipment-related crashes involved 505 child or adolescent occupants on farm equipment: 198 passengers and 307 operators. Passengers of farm equipment had 4.1 higher odds of injury than operators. Occupants who used restraints had significantly lower odds of injury than those who did not. Furthermore, occupants on farm equipment that was rear-ended or sideswiped had significantly lower odds of injury compared to occupants on farm equipment involved in noncollision crashes. Likewise, occupants on farm equipment that was impacted while turning had significantly lower odds of injury compared to those on equipment that was impacted while moving straight. Precautions should be taken to limit or restrict youth from riding on or operating farm equipment. These findings reiterate the need to enforce policies that improve safety measures for youth involved in or exposed to agricultural tasks.

National and state prevalence of smoke-free rules in homes with and without children and smokers: Two decades of progress

ObjectiveThe home is the primary source of secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure for children. We assessed national and state progress in smoke-free home (SFH) rule adoption in homes with and without children and adult smokers. MethodsData came from the 1992–1993 and 2010–2011 Tobacco Use Supplements to the Current Population Survey, a U.S. national probability household survey. Households were defined as having a SFH rule if all household respondents aged ≥18 indicated no one was allowed to smoke inside the home at any time. Households with children were those with occupants aged <18. Smokers were those who smoked ≥100 lifetime cigarettes and now smoked “everyday” or “some days”. ResultsFrom 1992–1993 to 2010–2011, SFH rule prevalence increased from 43.0% to 83.0% (p<.05). Among households with children, SFH rules increased overall (44.9% to 88.6%), in households without smokers (59.7% to 95.0%), and households with ≥1 smokers (9.7% to 61.0%) (p<.05). Among households without children, SFH rules increased overall (40.8% to 81.1%), in households without smokers (53.4% to 90.1%), and households with ≥1 smokers (6.3% to 40.9%) (p<.05). Prevalence increased in all states, irrespective of smoker or child occupancy (p<.05). In 2010–2011, among homes with smokers and children, SFH rule prevalence ranged from 36.5% (West Virginia) to 86.8% (California). ConclusionsConsiderable progress has been made adopting SFH rules, but many U.S. children continue to be exposed to SHS because their homes are not smoke-free. Further efforts to promote adoption of SFH rules are essential to protect all children from this health risk.

The Play Experiences of Preschool Children from a Low-socio-economic Rural Community in Worcester, South Africa.

Occupational therapists believe that play is a child's main occupation and is considered essential for healthy motor, cognitive and emotional development. However, play spaces and activities in low socio-economic areas are often different to those provided in structured occupational therapy treatment environments. The main objective was to determine play opportunities, activities, equipment, toys and the play environment for 5- to 6-year-olds living in a low-socio-economic community outside a small town in South Africa, in order to understand the nature of play in this environment better. Participant observation together with an adapted photovoice method to capture the play experience was used. Data was analysed using inductive content analysis. Two global themes emerged from the results: "neighbourhood children find ways to play" and "context influences play". Children were given ample opportunity to play and participated in extensive outdoor play. Their games were highly social and involved the imaginative use of found items as toys. Play was also used to make sense of social hazards. An understanding of play in a low-income context has implications for the development of future play assessments and the provision of play therapy in these communities. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Family Mealtimes and Sensory Processing Patterns

Abstract Date Presented 4/17/2015 This aim of this study was to understand how children’s sensory preferences influence parent and child behaviors in families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during mealtime. Participation in mealtime is a vital occupation for young children’s development, particularly for young children with ASD.

Method for investigation of child occupant impact dynamics based on real-world accident

The objective of the study is to propose a method to investigate child occupant impact dynamics based on realworld accident reconstruction. A real-world child occupant accident was reconstructed by using PC-Crash and finite element (FE) modeling software, with the aim of comparing simulation output with injuries sustained. Firstly, PC-Crash reconstruction was carried out to calculate vehicle impact conditions of vehicle impact velocity, vehicle position and vehicle orientation. The dynamics responses at the head, neck, thorax and pelvis of the child occupant were simulated. Hybird III 6-year-old FE model was employed in FE simulation. The results of two vehicles’ positions agreed well with that in real-world accident case, the dynamics responses at the head, neck and thorax of the child occupant well indicate the injury status of the child occupant. The simulation results showed that booster seat headrest and intrusive door mainly causes head injuries and seat belt mainly causes abdominal bruise of children. This study provides a useful method to investigate the impact dynamic and injury risk of child occupantre.

Focus on participation for children and youth with disabilities: Supporting therapy practice through a guided knowledge translation process

Introduction Participation in community leisure occupations of children with disabilities is important, yet poorly integrated into practice. This knowledge translation strategy tested an intervention to increase clinicians' awareness and to bring about change in practice toward a focus on participation. Method During this qualitative study, 14 clinicians participated in six learning sessions facilitated by a knowledge broker. Three months post-intervention, clinicians were individually interviewed, by drawing on the Professional Evaluation and Reflection on Change Tool, to evaluate potential change in practice. Two researchers independently performed thematic data analysis. Results Impact on practice emerged in both the personal and professional levels (for example, empowerment, validation of clinical wisdom, change in thinking and behavior). Clinicians suggested strategies for integrating participation in their day-to-day practice, illustrating a substantial intention for change, while describing barriers and facilitators for implementation (for example, organizational mandate). Two additional themes described the overall experience of the intervention: motivation to learn (for example, desire to link research to practice) and elements of the learning environment (for example, meeting informational needs). Conclusion This strategy was effective in redirecting clinicians' focus toward the notion of participation and establishing readiness for change. This shift can potentially facilitate new programs in occupational therapy that are participation-based and community-focused.

Parents’ Understanding of Play for Children With Cerebral Palsy

To present the findings of an exploratory study regarding the experience of play as an everyday occupation for children with severe cerebral palsy from their parents' perspective. We took a qualitative methodology and interpretive descriptive approach. After ethical approval, 7 participants were recruited and completed an interview and contextual information sheet. The interview data led to the exploration of four themes: typical play, burden of play, expanding the concept of play, and therapy and play. These components were interlinked and contributed to parents' understanding of play. Occupational therapy practitioners can aim to further understand the importance of affirming typical play, recognizing the burden of play, explaining expanded play, and explaining the importance of play for play's sake.

Comparative seroprevalence of measles virus immunoglobulin M antibodies in children aged 0-8 months and a control population aged 9-23 months presenting with measles-like symptoms in selected hospitals in Kaduna State.

BackgroundMeasles remains the leading cause of vaccine-preventable childhood mortality in developing countries, with its greatest incidence in children younger than 2 years of age. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of measles virus in children (aged 0–8 months) and older children (aged 9–23 months) presenting with measles-like symptoms.MethodsA total of 273 blood samples comprising 200 from children aged 0–8 months and 73 from children aged 9–23 months were collected and analyzed for measles virus IgM antibodies by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.ResultsAn overall prevalence of 21.2% was obtained, with a prevalence of 6.5% in children aged 0–8 months and 61.6% in children aged 9–23 months. The prevalence of measles virus increased with age in children aged 0–8 months and decreased with age in older children (aged 9–23 months), showing a significant association between measles virus and age of the child (P=0.000). A higher prevalence was found in females (27.5%) than in males (16.3%) and this difference was significant (odds ratio 1.942, P=0.025). There was no significant association with the level of parental education, parental occupation, or number of children in the family (P>0.05). With respect to children’s vaccination status and breastfeeding, there was a significant association (P<0.05). The marital status of the family, place of residence, and household size showed no significant association with the prevalence of measles virus. However, a significant association was observed in relation to maternal measles history (odds ratio 2.535, P=0.005) and maternal vaccination status (odds ratio 1.791, P=0.049), as well as between measles virus infection and all presenting symptoms, except for vomiting, malaria, typhoid, and pneumonia, which showed no significant association (P>0.05).ConclusionThe findings of this study confirm the presence of measles virus infection in children aged 0–8 months.

Investigation of theendowment intention and itseffect factors among the old people in hospital

Objective To learn the endowment intention and its effect factors of the old people in hospital, to explore the suitable aged care models and provide the basis to improve the quality of life to the old people. Methods A total of 196 old people were interviewed about endowment intention and its effect factors by self-designed questionnaire. Results The old people's willingness in hospital mainly depended on the influence of various factors the children count, education, occupation, pension, medical insurance, residence, living conditions, duration and attitude of being admitted, life satisfaction and self-care ability. Conclusions Social secuirity welfare should be consummated, home care service model should be gradually established, with the support of community service and supplemented by institution aged care. Key words: The old people; Endowment; Intention; In hospital

Research on the Optimization of Intelligent Child Restraint Systems Based on Children of Different Ages

Child restraint systems designed to match child occupant only under one collision condition can't provide effective protection for children under other collision condition. An adaptive child restraint system, which characteristic parameters are adjustable, is used to analyze the optimum parameters of restraint system for child occupants at different ages. The seat height, the cushion length and the force limiter value of the seat belt are chosen as optimization variables, and children's comprehensive damage evaluation I and neck injury threshold Nkm are chosen as optimization objectives. The methods of approximate model of polynomial regression and non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II are combined to conduct, multi-objective optimization for 3, 6, 10 years old child dummy respectively in both the front impact and rear impact according to GB 27887. The results show that the optimized parameters of restraint system can provide a better protection for children of the three age group in the two collision conditions. The correlation model between optimum parameters and child's height and weight is fitted based on optimization design points of the three age groups. Therefore, good protection effect can be achieved to children with different height and weight.

SETIL: Italian multicentric epidemiological case-control study on risk factors for childhood leukaemia, non hodgkin lymphoma and neuroblastoma: study population and prevalence of risk factors in Italy.

BackgroundAetiology of childhood leukaemia and childhood neoplasm is poorly understood. Information on the prevalence of risk factors in the childhood population is limited. SETIL is a population based case–control study on childhood leukaemia, conducted with two companion studies on non-Hodgkin Lymphoma (NHL) and neuroblastoma. The study relies on questionnaire interviews and 50 Hz magnetic field (ELF-MF) indoor measurements. This paper discusses the SETIL study design and includes descriptive information.MethodsThe study was carried out in 14 Italian regions (78.3% of Italian population aged 0–10). It included leukaemia, NHL and neuroblastoma cases incident in 0–10 year olds in 1998–2001, registered by the Italian Association of Paediatric Haematology and Oncology (AIEOP) (accrual over 95% of estimated incidence). Two controls for each leukaemia case were randomly sampled from the Local Health Authorities rolls, matched by gender, birthdate and residence. The same controls were used in NHL and neuroblastoma studies. Parents were interviewed at home on: physical agents (ELF-MF and ionizing radiation), chemicals (smoking, solvents, traffic, insecticides), occupation, medical and personal history of children and parents, infectious diseases, immunizations and associated factors. Occupational exposure was collected using job specific modules. ELF-MF was measured in the main rooms (spot measurement) and close to child’s bed (48 hours measurement).ResultsThe study included: 683 leukaemia cases (87% ALL, 13% AnLL), 97 NHL, 155 neuroblastomas, and 1044 controls.ELF-MF long term measurements were obtained for 61.1% of controls and 81.6% of leukaemia cases; 8.8% of controls were exposed at over 0.1 microTesla (μT), 3.5% and 2.1% at respectively over 0.2 and 0.3 μT. 25% of controls’ fathers had smoked over 10 cigarettes/day during the year of conception, varying according to education and region. Maternal smoking was less common (71.4% did not smoke in pregnancy). Maternal passive smoking during pregnancy was reported by 31.2% of controls; the child’s passive smoking for 28.6%.Occupational exposure to solvents was estimated in 18.3% of controls’ fathers and 7.7% of mothers. Contact with public was more frequent among mothers (36.1%) than fathers (23.4%).ConclusionsSETIL represents a data source on exposure of Italian children to a broad array of potential carcinogenic factors.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13052-014-0103-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Assessment of Child Occupant Protection in ASEAN NCAP

Statistics show that child traffic injuries are a public health problem globally, including Southeast Asia (SEA) region. With an overall value of road traffic death rate among children of 7.4 per 100,000 populations has put SEA as the second region to have the highest death rate after Africa. Due to this alarming figure, many safety interventions and inventions have been introduced and implemented to mitigate child injuries resulted from road traffic accidents. One of them is the establishment of crashworthiness rating programme for new passenger cars to evaluate the resulted child injuries via destructive tests. The New Car Assessment Programme for Southeast Asia region (ASEAN NCAP) established to elevate vehicle safety standards, raise consumer awareness and encourage market for saver vehicles in the dedicated region. Currently the programme assessed and rated passenger cars based on performance of adult and child occupant protection in frontal offset crash tests. Since its introduction, ASEAN NCAP has crash tested 28 popular passenger cars throughout its development phases. During these phases, there has been improvement on the rating of child occupant protection (COP) with the increase of number of cars getting 4-star. This paper presents the results of ASEAN NCAP tests for the development phases in term of COP rating as well as provides explanation on the related assessment.

Investigation of Thickness Influences on Energy Absorption for Side Doors and B Pillar in Euro NCAP Pole Side Impact Test

To assess a car under the Euro New Car Assessment Program (Euro-NCAP), Adult Occupant Protection is one out of three parameters which need to be calculated with a weight factor of 50% while the other parameters, Child Occupant Protection and Pedestrian Occupant Protection, have a weight factor of 20%. The Pole Side Impact Test, beside two other tests, Side &amp; Front Impact, is also required to calculate the Adult Occupant Protection. It shows how important the Pole Side Impact Test is and what an effective role it has in the car rating assessment. In this paper, the objective is to evaluate the effect of thickness on the energy absorbed by the side doors and the B pillar and its crashworthiness in a Pole Side Impact Test based on the Euro NCAP. In this matter, a vehicle model has been designed and prepared using CATIA and meshed using Hypermesh. Five thicknesses have been chosen including 0.6 mm, 1 mm, 1.2 mm, 1.4 mm and the original thickness of the side doors, 0.75 mm. The simulations have been repeated, using LS DYNA solver, assigning each of five thicknesses to the side doors and the B pillar of the vehicle. Initial conditions defined by the Euro NCAP, including velocity and directions, have been applied to the model. A total of 5 simulations have been conducted. The results showed that changing the thickness of the side doors and the B pillar does not necessarily have a direct influence on energy absorbed. The conclusion is that there are different proper thicknesses for each part which will result in optimized energy absorption.

The Prevalence of Child Restraint System Use among Children in Vehicles Equipped with Front Passenger Airbag in Kajang, Malaysia

New cars are being introduced with front passenger airbags (PAB) as a standard safety feature. Airbags are designed to reduce vehicle occupant injury in the event of a collision. In order for airbags to be effective, occupants must be restrained while travelling in vehicles. Children are often seen unrestrained while travelling in vehicles throughout Malaysia. Studies have shown that unrestrained children are exposed to higher risk of injury in a crash involving PAB deployment, compared to those who are restrained. The intended life saving benefit of PAB may be negated if child occupants remain mostly unrestrained. The objective of the study is to determine the prevalence of child restraint system (CRS) use in vehicles, especially those equipped with PAB. To realise this, an observational survey was conducted at selected day care centres in Kajang, to determine the use of child restraints among children aged six and below, child seating position, driver seatbelt use and availability of PAB. The study was performed in the first half of 2012. A total of 537 children aged 6 and below were observed. 51.4% of the children were seated in the front passenger seat, 45.3% were seated in the rear and 3.3% were seated on the driver’s lap. 13.3% of children seated in front seats were restrained, compared to 4.9% of those seated at the rear. Children were 4 times more likely to be restrained if the drivers were belted compared to those who were not. In vehicles equipped with PAB, 11.2% of children seated on the front seats are restrained, while in vehicles without, 17.1% were restrained. The restraint use among children is low and the presence of PAB does not have a significant effect on the use of CRS. There was a significant association between belted drivers and restrained children. The low CRS use is expected as the current legislation does not specifically mention the requirement for children to use CRS while travelling in vehicle, even if the vehicle is equipped with PAB.

Pediatric Occupant—Vehicle Contact Maps in Rollover Motor Vehicle Crashes

Objective: Rollover crashes account for more than 33% of all motor vehicle–related fatalities and have the highest fatality risk of all crash types, at 1.37% in the United States. There is increased awareness of the high fatality rate associated with this crash type, but there is very limited pediatric-specific data related to rollover crashes in the United States. Recent focus on rollover mitigation has resulted in implementation of countermeasures, making it important to evaluate injury causation for child occupants in rollover crashes with a more current data set.Methods: We queried the Crash Injury Research and Engineering Network (CIREN) from case years 1998 through 2013. Rollover crashes for passenger vehicles of model year 1998 or newer with at least one restrained occupant (excluding drivers) between 0 and 19 years of age were included. Vehicle-involved physical component and occupant–vehicle contact maps were developed with the CIREN data set.Results and Conclusions: Of the 20 CIREN cases that met the inclusion criteria, 15 had one or more injuries attributed to contact with some part of the vehicle structure. The CIREN analyses revealed that the head was the most common seriously injured body region, primarily due to contact with the roof side rail and/or vehicle interior. This finding was true for both adolescents and younger pediatric passengers in outboard seating positions. Fifty percent of head injury causation scenarios involving the vehicle interior had component intrusion of 20+ cm at the point of contact. Further exploration of pediatric rollover injury mechanisms using computational modeling and real-world testing is recommended in order to improve upon current mitigation strategies.

Effects of Increasing Child Restraint Use in Reducing Occupant Injuries Among Children Aged 0–5 Years in Japan

Objectives: In Japan, child restraint use among preschool children started to increase before compulsory child restraint use for children aged 0–5 years was introduced by legislation in April 2000. This study determined the effects of increased child restraint use in reducing motor vehicle occupant injuries among children aged 0–5 years.Methods: We obtained monthly police data of child vehicle occupant injuries from 1990 to 2009. We calculated monthly ratios of morbidity rates per population of children aged 0–5 years to those of children aged 6–9 years. Time trends of the morbidity rate ratios were analyzed using a joinpoint regression model to determine whether there were trend changes in child occupant injuries and when they occurred if there were trend changes.Results: The morbidity rate ratios showed a slightly increasing trend of 0.03% per month (95% confidence interval [CI], −0.02% to 0.09%) until the change-point in December 1997 (95% CI, July 1996 to January 1999), which then changed to a decreasing trend of −0.14% per month (95% CI, −0.16 to −0.11), with an overall trend change of −0.17% (95% CI, −0.23 to −0.11). No change-point was identified in or around April 2000 when compulsory restraint use was introduced.Conclusions: The present study used comparative indicators relative to age groups that were not covered by the legislation and showed that a decreasing trend of occupant morbidity among children aged 0–5 years started before the introduction of compulsory restraint use. This change probably reflects the prelegislative voluntary increase in child restraint use.

A prospective study of children aged

ObjectiveThe implementation of the compulsory wearing of seat belts (SBs) for children and improvements in child restraint systems have reduced the number of deaths and severe injuries among children involved in motor vehicle (MV) collisions (MVCs). Establishing the characteristics predictive of such injuries may provide the basis for targeted safety campaigns and lead to a further reduction in mortality and morbidity among children involved in MVCs. This study performed a multidisciplinary investigation among child occupants involved in MVCs to elucidate injury mechanisms, evaluate the safety measures used and determine the characteristics that are predictive of injury. MethodsA prospective study was conducted of all child occupants aged <16 years involved in severe MVCs in south-eastern Norway during 2009–2013. The exterior and interior of the MVs were investigated and the injured children were medically examined. Supplementary information was obtained from witnesses, the crash victims, police reports, medical records and reconstructions. Each case was reviewed by a multidisciplinary team to assess the mechanism of injury. ResultsIn total, 158 child occupants involved in 100 MVCs were investigated, of which 27 (17%) exhibited Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) scores of 2+ injuries and 15 (9%) exhibited AIS 3+ injuries. None of the children died. Of those with AIS 2+ injuries (n=27), 89% (n=24) were involved in frontal impact collisions and 11% (3/27) were involved in side impacts. Multivariate analysis revealed that restraint misuse, age, the prevailing lighting conditions and ΔV were all independently correlated with AIS 2+ injuries. Safety errors were found in 74% (20/27) of those with AIS 2+ injuries and 93% (14/15) of those with AIS 3+ injuries. The most common safety error was misuse of restraints, and in particular loose and/or improperly positioned SBs. ConclusionThe risk of injury among child occupants is significantly higher when the child occupants are exposed to safety errors within the interior of the vehicle. Future campaigns should focus on the prevention of restraint misuse and unsecured objects in the passenger compartment or boot.

Neck Moment Characterization of Restrained Child Occupant at Realistic Nontest Standard Higher Impact Speed of 32.2 km/h

The effects of bullet vehicle crash impact angle, child restraint system design, and restraint harness slack at side impact speed of 32.2 km/h (20 mph) on moments sustained at the neck by a three-year-old child are investigated. Mathematical models are built using the response surface method based on simulation results whereby good fitness is achieved. The singular and cross interactive effect of each predictor on the neck moment are analyzed. The number of significant parameters affecting the neck moment is shown to be the largest for wide impact angles (ϕ≥60°) and the impact angle parameter is largely revealed to be the most sensitive. An ideal safe range for low neck moment has been established to be within ϕ angles 45° and 65°. It is further shown that the nature of all parameters effect on the neck moment is highly dependent on the impact angle range.