Unintentional Injury Rates Research Articles

Kidsafe Week a hit in New Zealand

In 1996 a number of national agencies concerned about the high rate of child unintentional injury and death in New Zealand came together to plan a Kidsafe Week, to encourage...

Predictors of unintentional injuries to school-age children seen in pediatric primary care.

To identify predictors of unintentional injury to school-age children seen in pediatric primary care. Members of a managed health care system (295 children ages 5-11 years and their mothers) participated. We used Time 1 measures of child, maternal, and family functioning and health care utilization to predict rates of unintentional child injury for the following year. Multiple regression analyses were performed to identify variables contributing to prospective injury rates. The final regression model included eight Time 1 variables and accounted for 21% of the variance in Time 2 injury rates. Significant predictors of increased injury liability were younger child age, more children at home, child behavior problems, child social competence, three indices of reduced child health, and maternal anxiety. We discuss the utility of these predictors for pediatric psychologists in targeting primary care preventive interventions to families at risk for unintentional child injury.

Modifying the Environment: A Community-based Injury-Reduction Program for Elderly Residents

The Department of Public Health, City and County of San Francisco, established the Community and Home Injury Prevention Program for Seniors (CHIPPS) to reduce the rate of unintentional injuries among elderly residents. Through a collaboration between the CHIPPS program, the University of California at Berkeley School of Public Health and the University of California at San Francisco School of Medicine, we tested the hypothesis that providing minor home safety modifications would reduce rates of falls, scalds, and burns. A one-group, pretest-posttest design was used to compare self-reported falls, scalds, and burns for six-month periods before and after the intervention. The intervention used 10 person-hours of unskilled labor and $93 worth of materials on average and included home safety assessments and modifications such as removing clutter; installing hand rails, grab bars, nonskid strips; and securing rugs and electrical cords. Reported falls were reduced by 60% after the intervention, from 0.81 to 0.33 falls per person year (p < .01). Scalds were reduced from 9 to 0 (P < .01) and burns from 7 to 0 (P < .02) during the six-month periods before and after the intervention. Some of the apparent effect may be due to differential reporting. This community-based program to reduce hazards in the home environments of senior citizens was feasible, well accepted, and probably effective in preventing falls, burns, and scalds. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH): accidental falls/prevention and control, aged, safety.

Prevention of Traumatic Deaths to Children in the United States: How Far Have We Come and Where Do We Need to Go?

To describe the changes in injury mortality from 1978 to 1991 and determine the number of preventable deaths with currently available intervention strategies. Comparison of injury mortality data for children and adolescents 0 to 19 years in 1978 and 1991. Review of the literature to determine the effectiveness of currently available prevention strategies and application of these to deaths in 1991. The injury death rate declined by 26% over the 14-year period. Death rates of unintentional injuries decreased by 39%, with declines in all categories of unintentional injuries. Homicides increased by 67% and suicides by 17%; nearly all of this increase was in deaths from firearms. If currently available prevention strategies were fully used, 6640 deaths could have been prevented, a further 31% decrease. Although great studies have been made in preventing deaths from trauma, the application of currently available prevention strategies could save a large number of additional lives. However, the increasing problem of intentional injury will partly counterbalance the success in unintentional injury control.

Antisocial behaviour, unintentional and intentional injuries during adolescence

This paper examines the relationships between antisocial behaviours and risks of both intentional and unintentional injury in a birth cohort of New Zealand children studied to the age of 16 years. The findings of the study lead to three major conclusions. (1) For this cohort rates of unintentional injury were unrelated to measures of antisocial behaviours. This absence of association was general and held for a range of different definitions of antisocial behaviours and injury risk. Additionally, the risk factors for antisocial behaviour showed little overlap with the risk factors for unintentional injury. (2) There were consistent and pervasive associations between measures of antisocial behaviour and both attempted suicide and suicidal ideation. Young people showing marked antisocial behaviours had odds of suicidal behaviours or ideation that were between 3.0 and 13.2 times those of young people without antisocial tendencies. (3) The comorbidities between suicidal tendencies and antisocial behaviours were largely explained by the facts that: (a) the risk factors for suicidal tendencies overlapped with the risk factors for antisocial behaviour and (b) antisocial behaviours were comorbid with other disorders (notably depression) that were associated with increased risks of suicidal tendencies. When common risk factors and comorbid disorders were taken into account the associations between antisocial behaviours and suicidal tendencies were substantially reduced. Nonetheless, there was evidence of small unexplained odds ratios ranging from 1.5 to 4.5 between antisocial behaviour and suicidal tendencies.

Crime, violence and injuries in children and adolescents: common risk factors?

Intentional and unintentional injuries are the most important cause of morbidity and mortality to children and adolescents in industrialised countries. Injuries share many important risk factors with crime and violence, including male gender, minority race, low socioeconomic status, poor environments, urban location, poor parenting skills, impulsive and hyperactive behaviour, alcohol and substance abuse, and risk‐taking behaviour. Whilst rates of unintentional injury in children and adolescents have decreased in the last few decades, rates of intentional injury and of violence have increased. Because injuries share many risk factors with crime and violence, interventions to decrease the occurrence of injuries may also be effective in decreasing crime and violence among adolescents and young adults.

Maltreatment of children born to teenage mothers: A comparison between the 1960s and 1980s

To determine whether the rates or the reporting of maltreatment of children born to teenage mothers changed from the 1960s to the 1980s. Comparison of two cohorts. Ambulatory services of Yale-New Haven Hospital, New Haven, Conn. Consecutive children born to black teenage mothers; the "early" cohort comprised 148 children born from September 1967 through June 1969, and the "late" cohort, 159 children born from October 1979 through December 1981. Each injury for which the child was medically evaluated from birth to 5 years of age was categorized by predefined criteria as follows: maltreatment (abuse, neglect, or sexual abuse), household violence, unintentional injury-neglect, unintentional injury, or insufficient information. The rates of maltreatment in the early cohort and in the late cohort were similar: 12.8% versus 10.7% (relative risk (RR) = 0.83; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.45, 1.54). The rates of unintentional injury also were similar: 52% in the early cohort versus 60% in the late cohort (RR = 1.17; 95% CI = 0.96, 1.43). In contrast, 30% of the episodes of maltreatment were reported to the state protective service agency in the early cohort versus 65% of episodes in the late cohort (RR = 2.14; 95% CI = 1.08, 4.26). Among children born to teenage, black, inner-city women, the rates of child maltreatment are similar from the late 1960s to the 1980s. The increased rates of reporting of maltreatment reflect increased rates of recognition by clinicians, rather than true increases in prevalence.

Infectious Diseases and Injuries in Child Day Care

To provide pertinent background information on infectious diseases and injury in child day care and outline measures to address these health care needs. We reviewed published English-language literature identified through a MEDLINE bibliographic search, major literature summaries, and bibliographies from identified articles. Child day-care settings reviewed included family child care homes, centers, special facilities for ill children, and facilities for children with special needs. Primarily children in a variety of day-care settings, often compared with children cared for at home. The occurrence of outbreaks and illness related to infectious disease and injury. Compared with preschool-aged children reared at home, among children in day care the risk of some infectious diseases was two to four times greater. Rates of both intentional and unintentional injuries in day-care settings were somewhat lower than those for children cared for at home. Because preschool-aged children spend increasing time in structured day-care settings, the risk for some infectious diseases has increased. At the same time, child day-care settings present opportunities for ensuring healthier children through enhanced development, safer environments, better nutrition, increased vaccination coverage, and health promotion.