The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #70179

Stanley Sciortino, PhD¹, Mary J. Vassar, RN, MS², and Michael L Radetsky, MA, MPH¹. (1) Community Health Education Section, San Francisco Department of Public Health, 30 Van Ness Ave, Suite 2300, San Francisco, CA 94102, 415 581-2419, stanley.sciortino@sfdph.org, (2) University of California San Francisco, San Francisco Injury Center, 1001 Potrero Ave, Ward 3A, Box 0807, San Francisco, CA 94110

Background: San Francisco has high rates of pedestrian injuries and fatalities. Our Traffic and Pedestrian Safety Program combined injury surveillance with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping techniques to better target injury interventions.

Methods: 1) For 2000 and 2001, we linked pedestrians (n=2701) injured by motor vehicles identified by the Statewide Integrated Traffic Reporting System (SWITRS) with visits to San Francisco General Hospital’s Trauma Center (n=1321). 2) We abstracted police collision reports and crash-typed motor vehicle-pedestrian collisions for 2001. 3) We mapped the location of auto-pedestrian collisions and modifiable aspects of the traffic environment.

Results: We found that SWITRS and police collision reports underestimated the total number of injuries in San Francisco in 2000 and 2001 by at least 16% (531/3,232). Most of the injured pedestrians not identified by police reports, arrived at the hospital in an ambulance. There was little evidence, however, for bias in police reporting due to sex, age, or race of the pedestrian. Data abstracted directly from police collision reports contributed new information on race, injury severity, crash type, mass transit related incidents and the citations issued. Initial analyses of GIS data indicated that areas and corridors of San Francisco varied by the proportion of persons severely injured or killed vs. those who have minor injuries.

Conclusion: Strategic use of health and police information for pedestrian injuries combined with geographic mapping techniques can better target interventions for injury reduction. Engineering or educational interventions should not rely solely on total injury concentrations in a given area, for example.

Learning Objectives:

• At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to:
• 1.)Identify data sources available for pedestrian injury surveillance at the local level
• 2.)Describe the advantages and limitations of each source.
• 3.)Discuss enhancements of injury surveillance with GIS mapping techniques appropriate to the traffic environment.
• 4.)Assess several risk factors for motor vehicle-pedestrian collisions utilizing data sources and techniques described.

Keywords: Injury Control, Geographic Information Systems

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: San Francisco Dept. of Health Services
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Employer