324083
Socioeconomic indicators for injury risk: Recommendations for a national surveillance model
To present a methodological approach for monitoring annual changes in injury risk attributed to social and economic determinants that is compatible with current surveillance measures.
Methods
Case data were obtained from the state of South Carolina trauma registry. A total of 1,814 hospitalization records from the 2010 calendar year were assessed. A subset of indicators identified from a previous systematic review were evaluated: the % of lone parent families, the % of population below the poverty line, area unemployment rate, and the % of non-high school graduates. Excess risk in injury mortality attributed to socioeconomic factors was assessed using a population attributable fraction (PAF).
Results/outcomes
All SES indicators demonstrated an increased risk of injury across SES strata in reference to persons assigned to the least deprived areas, but not all indicators produced a stepwise increase in risk across each strata. Similarly, each indicator produced a different PAF, ranging from 14.1% when calculated using percentage of lone parent families to 20.4% using area unemployment rates.
Conclusions
Injuries are not only a leading cause of death in the US, but are also considered a cause of morbidity and mortality with the steepest social gradient. Yet, missing from initiatives to evaluate injury trends derived from routine surveillance has been the development of indicators that attribute the burden of injury to its principal determinants. This pilot study describes a methodological approach to monitor annual changes in injury risk attributed to socioeconomic conditions and an overview describing how different indicators can be evaluated.
Learning Areas:
Communication and informaticsPublic health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related public policy
Public health or related research
Learning Objectives:
Describe a methodological approach for monitoring annual changes in injury risk attributed to social and economic determinants that is compatible with current surveillance measures.
Keyword(s): Health Disparities/Inequities, Surveillance
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have over ten years experience utilizing and developing census-based deprivation indices to asses social gradients in health and injury risk. I have served on a national (Canada) panel sponsored by the Canadian Public Health Association on the creation of national socioeconomic indicators for monitoring health outcomes. I have received federal, state, and provincial funding to test census-based indicators of social inequalities and have published over 15 peer-reviewed manuscripts in this research area.
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.