Irene Chen, DrPH¹, Michael Elliott, PhD², Dennis R. Durbin, MD, MSCE³, and Flaura K. Winston, MD, PhD³. (1) Traumalink, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 34th and Civic Center Blv 3535 Traumalink, 10th floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104, 215-590-3775, cheni@email.chop.edu, (2) Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania, 612 BLOCKLEY/6021, 423 GUARDIAN DRIVE, Philadelphia, PA 19104, (3) TraumaLink, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 34th Street and Civic Center Boulevard, 3535 TraumaLink, 10th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104

Purpose: To examine the relative importance of socio-demographic factors on injury risk for child passengers in vehicle crashes. Methods: Data were obtained from the Partners for Child Passenger Safety Project, an ongoing, child-specific crash surveillance system that links insurance claims data to telephone survey and crash investigation data. All crashes occurring between 12/1/00 and 11/30/02, involving a child occupant under age 16 riding in a model year 1990 or newer vehicle reported to State Farm Insurance Companies from 15 states and Washington DC, were eligible for this study. A probability sample of eligible crashes was selected for a telephone survey with the driver of the vehicle using a validated instrument. Results: After adjustment for child’s age, driver’s race and age, driver's education and income are associated with child injury risk. Compared to children riding with drivers with college education or above, those riding with drivers with less than high school education are more likely to be seriously injured [OR(95%CI)]=[1.80(1.01, 3.21)]. Compared to children riding with drivers with income above $40,000, those riding with drivers with income less than $20,000 are more likely to be seriously injured [OR(95%CI)]=[1.56(1.02, 2.38)]. The interaction between driver’s race and income with child injury risk shows that there are elevated risks for children riding with drivers in poor minority groups. Conclusions: These findings suggest that new methods of child passenger injury prevention may need to be developed to more effectively address the needs of drivers with low income and drivers with low education.

Learning Objectives:

• to examine the associations between driver's socio-demographic variables on child passenger injury risk in a crash
• to recognize differences in socio-demographic variables among White, Black, and Hispanic driver groups
• to examine the relative importance of driver's socio-demographic variables on child passenger injury risk
• to discuss possible mechanism and intervention for at-higher-risk groups

Keywords: Children, Motor Vehicles

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.