Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

Abstract #161788

Ruth Kafensztok, DrPH, Illinois EMS for Children Program, Loyola University Medical Center, 2160 South First Avenue, Maywood, IL 60153, 708-327-9019, rkafens@lumc.edu

The aim of this research was to study the mortality experience of US Hispanic motor vehicle occupants (i.e., drivers and passengers) fatally injured in a traffic crash. The purpose of the study was to identify factors that could assist in the proper targeting of traffic safety interventions. The research consisted of a retrospective study using secondary data sources: Fatality Analysis Reporting System (1999-2001); census population counts and estimates (1999-2001); and, vehicle miles traveled (VMT) estimates, 2001. Three different mortality measures were examined: population-based mortality rate, exposure-based mortality rate, and YPLL rate. Rates for three groups were compared: Hispanics, Black non-Hispanics (BNHs), and White non-Hispanics (WNHs). The implications on the use of different mortality measures were explored. The results indicated that Hispanic MV occupants had a lower overall age adjusted population-based mortality rate than BNHs and WNHs (11.4, 12.1, and 13.3 MV occupant deaths per 100,000 population, respectively). A similar pattern was observed with the age adjusted YPLL rates (446.4, 465.2, and 510.8 per 100,000 population, respectively). However, Hispanic mortality experience seemed more severe than BNH and WNH mortality when crude YPLL rates (504.0, 484.9, 494.5 YPLL per 100,000 population, respectively) and VMT death rates were examined (3.0, 2.3, and 1.5 per 100 million VMT, respectively). Mortality measures more sensitive to younger population and to MV travel exposure indicate a more severe problem among Hispanics than the traditional mortality rate. In addition, for all three mortality measures, passenger-only mortality was higher among Hispanics than among BNHs and WNHs.

Learning Objectives:

• - Identify three distinct population-level mortality measures for use in motor vehicle injury epidemiology
• - Recognize at least one aspect of how population age and injury event distributions in ethnically diverse populations may affect these mortality measures
• - Articulate the information provided by the different mortality measures

Keywords: Injury, Motor Vehicles

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.