Background
Among unintentional injuries to children, two-thirds were motor vehicle related from 2000–2001 (1). Our analysis of 2000 census data (WISQARS) shows the overall death rate per 100,000 from motor vehicle accidents for children under the age of 13 years old to be highest for Blacks (5.53) and lowest for Whites (3.63), with Hispanics having an intermediate rate (4.43). A recent analysis of 1990 census data shows the motor vehicle occupant death rate per billion vehicle miles of travel among children ages 5 through 12 is also highest for Blacks (14), and lowest for Whites (5) with Hispanics having an intermediate rate (8) (2).
Objective
To determine the level of childhood injury awareness among neighborhood members and to examine how this awareness depends on ethnicity.
Methods
A telephone survey was conducted with 900 adults living in Dallas, TX: 272 Whites, 300 Blacks, 300 Hispanics, and 28 “Other” persons. Respondents were requested to answer “yes” or “no” to the following thirteen part question: “Within the last year, are you personally aware of any children in your neighborhood who have been physically injured by …” The entire list of injury types appearing in the first column of the table below was then read to the respondent.
| Type of injury | White (% Yes) | Black (% Yes) | Hispanic (% Yes) | Stat. Sig. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riding in a motor vehicle | 8.8 | 6.3 | 12.0 | 2 |
| Playing/walking near motor vehicles | 5.1 | 2.3 | 10.7 | 2, 3 |
| Riding in motor vehicles and/or Playing/walking near motor vehicles | 12.1 | 7.7 | 19.3 | 2, 3 |
| Riding bicycles | 7.0 | 5.7 | 10.7 | 2 |
| Electricity, matches, Fire | 1.5 | 1.7 | 5.7 | 2, 3 |
| Knives, guns | 2.6 | 3.0 | 6.7 | 3 |
| Hot water, swimming pools | 2.2 | 2.0 | 8.7 | 2, 3 |
| Falls from heights | 4.0 | 2.3 | 7.3 | 2 |
| Poison, drugs, alcohol | 2.6 | 3.7 | 7.3 | 3 |
| Fights among children | 10.3 | 14.7 | 21.7 | 2, 3 |
| Abuse by adults | 3.7 | 2.7 | 4.3 | |
| Riding scooters, skateboards, or roller-skates | 12.5 | 8.3 | 18.0 | 2 |
| Playground Equipment | 7.4 | 7.3 | 12.0 | |
| Other injury | 6.3 | 3.3 | 8.3 | 2 |
White/Black difference is statistically significant
Black/Hispanic difference is statistically significant
White/Hispanic difference is statistically significant
Results
The ranking of death rates due to motor vehicle related injury when categorized by ethnicity has the pattern B>H>W, while the ranking of awareness of motor vehicle related injury has the pattern H>W>B. The most prevalent type of child injury/violence was fights among children for Blacks and Hispanics. Riding scooters, skateboards and roller-skates was the most prevalent injury among whites. There were no statistically significant differences between Whites and Blacks for any of the injury subtypes. For all statistically significant differences between Blacks and Hispanics the level of awareness among Blacks is less than that among Hispanics. For all statistically significant differences between Whites and Hispanics the level of awareness among Whites is less than that among Hispanics. Across all injury mechanisms, Hispanics report greater childhood injury awareness than either Blacks or Whites.
Conclusions
Injury awareness differs by both ethnicity and injury mechanism which should be taken into account when developing neighborhood safety/injury prevention programs.
References
- 1.MacDorman MF, Minino AM, Strobino DM, Guyer B. Pediatrics. 2002;110(6):1037–52. doi: 10.1542/peds.110.6.1037. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Baker SP, Braver ER, Chen LH, Pantula JF, Massie D. Archives of Pediatric & Adolescent Medicine. 1998;152(12):1209–12. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.152.12.1209. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]