Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #109225

Jessica L. Muilenburg, PhD¹, Lucy Annang, PhD, MPH², Angelic Howell¹, Stuart Usdan, PhD, CHES³, and William D. Johnson, PhD⁴. (1) University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2500 North State Street, Department of Preventive Medicine, Jackson, MS 39216, (2) Health Behavior, University of Alabama at Birmingham, 227 Ryals Public Health Building, 1665 University Boulevard, Birmingham, AL 35294, 205/975-5467, lannang@uab.edu, (3) Health Promotion, Education, and Behavior, Univeristy of South Carolina, 800 Sumter Street, HESC 220, Columbia, SC 29208, (4) Department of Preventive Medicine, The University of Mississippi Medical Center, 2500 North State Street, Jackson, MS 39216

Unintentional injuries continue to be the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among adolescents in the U.S. Adolescents living in rural areas are often faced with different challenges than their urban counterparts. Surveys were administered to 281 middle school students in a Mississippi Delta area middle school. The participants were 51.0% female, and 56.6% African Americans. An overwhelming majority (74.0%) of students reported that not wearing a helmet when riding a bicycle. Only 27.7% responded they “always,” were a safety belt, with 20.4% responding “never” or “rarely.” Nearly half (49.3%) responded that they had been in a physical fight in the past year. Many students also reported riding in a car “driven by someone who had been drinking” (45.3%). These students were less likely to report having plans go to college [OR= .41, CI (.21, .806). Some students also reported drinking and driving (17.0%) at least once. These students were more likely to be male [OR=3.1, CI, 1.6, 6.1), less likely to report having plans to go to college [OR= .317, CI (.18, .77)], and less likely to sit down for dinner at least once a week with their family for dinner [OR=.53 CI (.29, .989)]. The results show that these students have higher rates of risky behaviors than national data, particularly for middle school students. More research is needed to investigate why rural communities have high rates of risky behavior. Interventions should be tailored to the needs of the rural population of this nation.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify particular rates of rural adolescent risky behavior.
• Discuss the needs of rural populations in terms if unintentional injury early interventions.
• Discuss the needs of rural communities and the impact that something.

Keywords: Adolescents, Injury Risk

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.