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The most common behaviors that
contribute to injuries among elementary and middle school-aged
children include (YRBSS 2003)[i]: |
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Falls
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Inappropriate
playground equipment type for age
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Poor quality or
condition of playground equipment
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Inappropriate
playground fall surface materials
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Unsupervised
school playgrounds
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Motor Vehicle
Occupant
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Not being
properly restrained in a child safety seat, booster seat, or
lap/shoulder belt. Approximately 60% of motor vehicle
occupant fatalities could be prevented with appropriate and
proper use of a safety seat, booster seat, or lap/shoulder
belt.[ii]
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Pedestrian-Motor Vehicle
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Walking too
close towards a school bus and standing too close to the
curb at the bus stop. This is due to visibility issues with
smaller sized children in blind spots of the bus.
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Walking between
cars and school buses in school drop off zones.
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Not obeying
traffic pedestrian laws when walking to school.
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Bicycle-Motor Vehicle
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Not
wearing a bicycle helmet. Approximately 65%-88% of
bicycle-related brain injuries[iii],
as well as facial fractures and lacerations could be
prevented with the proper use of an approved bicycle helmet.[iv]
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Homicide
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While
homicides and accidental shootings are not within the top
five causes of injury hospitalizations, access to a firearm
is a contributing factor to 78% of homicides and 60% of
suicides among middle school aged children.[v]
It has been estimated that for every firearm-related
fatality among individuals 24 years and younger, four more
youth are hospitalized due to firearm incidents.[vi]
Further, only 40% of homes with both children and firearms,
store firearms locked and unloaded. Thus, 60% of homes
where there are both children and firearms leave the
firearms either unlocked or loaded.[vii]
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[i] Trends in the
prevalence of behaviors that contribute to violence,
National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 1991-2003, Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
[ii]
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Benefits
of safety belts and motorcycle helmets: report to
Congress, February 1996. Washington, DC: US Department of
Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration, 1996
[iii]
Thompson RS, Rivara FP, Thompson DC. A case-control study
of the effectiveness of bicycle safety helmets. New Engl J
Med 1989;320:1361--7
[iv]
Thompson DC, Nunn ME, Thompson RS, Rivara FP.
Effectiveness of bicycle safety helmets in preventing
serious facial injury. JAMA 1996;276:1974--5
[v]
Annest JL, Mercy JA, Gibson DR, Ryan GW. National
estimates of nonfatal firearm-related injuries: beyond the
tip of the iceberg. JAMA 1995;273:1749--54
[vi]
Annest JL, Mercy JA, Gibson DR, Ryan GW. National
estimates of nonfatal firearm-related injuries: beyond the
tip of the iceberg. JAMA 1995;273:1749--54
[vii]
Stennies G, Ikeda R, Leadbetter S, Houston B, Sacks J.
Firearm storage practices and children in the home, United
States, 1994. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1999;153:586--90
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For more
information please call (213) 351-7888
Last
modified on
09/26/2008 . |
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