141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

284746
Unintentional injuries among children and adolescents: A decade of trends

Tuesday, November 5, 2013 : 3:10 PM - 3:30 PM

Alicia Sampson, MPH, CPH , Health & Human Services Agency, Public Health Services, County of San Diego, San Diego, CA
Kimberly De Vera, BS , Emergency Medical Services, County of San Diego, San Diego, CA
Leslie Ray, MPH, MPPA, MA , Emergency Medical Services, County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, San Diego, CA
Isabel Corcos, PhD, MPH , County of San Diego, Emergency Medical Services, County of San Diego, San Diego, CA
Barbara M. Stepanski, MPH , Emergency Medical Services, County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, San Diego, CA
Joshua Smith, PhD, MPH , Emergency Medical Services, County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, San Diego, CA
Ryan Smith, MPH , Emergency Medical Services, County of San Diego, San Diego, CA
Tyler Packett, B.A. , Emergency Medical Services, County of San Diego, San Diego, CA
Background Unintentional injuries are among the leading causes of emergency department discharge, hospitalization, and death among children and adolescents in San Diego County. The purpose of this study was to examine trends in unintentional injury over the past ten years.

Methods Using the State of California's Emergency Department Discharge, Patient Discharge, and Death Statistical Master Files databases, we analyzed all unintentional injuries among San Diego County children and adolescents aged 0 to 14 years from 2000 through 2010. Rates of unintentional injuries were also mapped using GIS.

Results/Outcomes From 2000 through 2010, 255 children died from unintentional injuries, another 15,000 were hospitalized, and another 194,795 were treated and released from an emergency department (2006-2010). During this time, the rates of death and hospitalization due to unintentional injuries declined significantly, 52% and 46%, respectively. However, the rate of emergency department discharge increased 6%. Causes of unintentional injury varied by level of medical encounter – drowning/submersions were the leading cause of death and falls were the leading cause of hospitalization and emergency department discharge.

Conclusions Increased policy and advocacy driven measures aimed at preventing injury have driven the overall decline unintentional injury deaths and hospitalizations among children in San Diego County. The slight increase in emergency department rates suggests that the risk of unintentional injury among children is unchanged, whereas the risk of severe and life threatening unintentional injuries had declined. Recent unintentional injury prevention strategies aimed at children and adolescents may impact the overall burden and risk in the near future.

Learning Areas:
Epidemiology
Other professions or practice related to public health
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Identify current trends in unintentional injury among children and adolescents. Analyze the leading causes of unintentional injury among children and adolescents. Assess the risk factors for unintentional injury among children and adolescents.

Keywords: Children and Adolescents, Injury

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am an epidemiologist with the County of San Diego and have been the principle or co-principle of several unintentional injury analyses as well as co-principle of multiple surveillance and epidemiological analyses related to the health of San Diego County Residents. Among my scientific interests has been the epidemiology of injury, chronic disease, and innovative health education campaigns.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

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.