Injury Prevention articles from December 2002

Injury Prevention archives from December 2002

Introduction: presentations from the Sixth World Conference on Injury prevention and Control. (Editorial).(Editorial)
December 1, 2002... The Sixth World Conference on Injury Prevention and Control, held in Montreal in May 2002, is now just a smattering of lingering memories. For some, the most enduring of these may be the uncharacteristically cold and wet weather. For most,...

Injuries among older adults: the challenge of optimizing safety and minimizing unintended consequences. (Safety and the Elderly).
December 1, 2002... Objectives: To describe the problem of falls, motor vehicle related injuries, and suicide among older adults, and issues related to their prevention. Methods: Summary and synthesis of selected literature. Results: About 39,000 adults...

Prevention of injuries to children and adolescents. (Child Safety).
December 1, 2002... Objective: To outline an approach and agenda for research to prevent injuries to children and adolescents. Methods: Injuries to children and adolescents 18 years and younger in low, middle, and high income countries were investigated. ...

Occupational injury prevention research: progress and priorities. (Occupational Safety).
December 1, 2002... The twentieth century witnessed remarkable reductions in the number and rate of occupational fatalities and injuries. However, many preventable injuries and deaths still occur. Barriers to progress in occupational injury prevention are...

The security of urban women: practice, research, and partnerships. (Women's Safety).
December 1, 2002... All public bodies whose mandate includes responsibility for the quality of urban life cannot ignore the question of security. On a global level, it is agreed that action needs to be taken locally, with the input of everyone involved. Since...

Prevention of injury by early socialization of aggressive behavior. (Violence Prevention).
December 1, 2002... Frequent use of physical aggression by humans appears to reach its peak between 2 and 3 years of age. In the following years most children learn alternatives to physical aggression. Approximately 4% of children have high levels of physical...

Injury prevention in sport: not yet part of the game? (Leisure and Sport Safety).
December 1, 2002... Background: There is a saying in sport that "injury is just part of the game". In other words, injury in sport is seen as inevitable. Objective: To examine progress toward reaching the contrary position that "injury prevention is just part...

In-vehicle communication systems: the safety aspect. (Road Safety).
December 1, 2002... Communication and information technology are developing very rapidly at present. At the same time, the number of older drivers is increasing. When designing systems for elderly drivers, it has been shown that: (1) simplifying a task reduces...

Media coverage as a risk factor in suicide. (Suicide Prevention).
December 1, 2002... A total of 293 findings from 42 studies on the impact of publicized suicide stories in the media on the incidence of suicide in the real world were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. Studies measuring the effect of either an...

Strategies for recovery and regeneration after brain and spinal cord injury. (Post-Trauma Care and Rehabilitation).
December 1, 2002... Current knowledge of the epidemiology and pathophysiology of neurotrauma and the key clinical and experimental strategies for promoting recovery and regeneration after brain and spinal cord trauma are reviewed. Brief overviews of the...

A trip on the world wide web: web based submissions and reviewing are here to stay. (Editorial).(Editorial)
December 1, 2002... As the kids say, moving the journal onto the world wide web has been "a trip". Although if memory serves that phrase is meant to convey something deliriously wonderful (perhaps literally so), this voyage has been like most travels-mainly...

Yes, Americans are often shot-and so are many others: the public health community is crucial to any solution. (Guest Editorial).(gun violence around the world)(Editorial)
December 1, 2002... This journal often publishes papers on gun injury, almost all of them American. Readers on other shores could be forgiven for asking if the topic concerns them, given the sharp disparities in firearm related mortality. For example in the United...

Bias in estimates of seat belt effectiveness: an objective measure of seat belt use is needed to enable us to assess their effectiveness. (Commentary: Seat Belts).
December 1, 2002... A lack of consensus on the effectiveness of seat belts, when used, is remarkable given that belts have been standard equipment in passenger cars for more than 30 years in the highly industrialized countries. In the 1970s, examination of 19...

Mobilizing for pedestrian safety: an experiment in community action. (Special Report).
December 1, 2002... In contrast to the steady reduction in mortality and morbidity from collisions involving motor vehicle occupants, relatively little progress has been made in controlling motor vehicle/pedestrian collisions. Engineering modifications are the...

People in the news. (News and Notes).(emergency physician receives distinguished career award)(Consumer Product Safety Commission selects eighth chairman )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... At the Sixth World Conference on Injury Prevention and Control held in Montreal in May, the International Distinguished Career Award was presented to Injury Prevention editor Professor Barry Pless by the Injury Control and Emergency Health...

Juicer defects cost company $300,000. (News and Notes).(Aroma Housewares Co.)(defective juice extractors injure consumers)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... In July, the US CPSC announced a court ruling imposing a $300 000 civil penalty against a firm for not reporting a serious product hazard--the first time such a penalty has been awarded by a court for a company's failure to report. The ruling...

Australian reports. (News and Notes).(rising rates of near drownings and traumatic brain injuries)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare has recently released Persisting morbidity among hospitalisations for near drowning, Australia 1997-1998. It can be downloaded as a pdf file via...

Latch guide in Safe Ride News. (News and Notes).(lower anchors and tethers for children)(new child seat belt law)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... The July/August issue of Safe Ride News published in August features an authoritative guide on how to use the LATCH system, which becomes mandatory in all new passenger vehicles in the US from 1 September 2002. LATCH (Lower Anchors and Tethers...

Most British drivers break speed limits. (News and Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Most motorists exceed speed limits, with more than half the cars on motorways and dual carriageways travelling faster than the stated maximum, UK government figures show. Almost two thirds of drivers ignore the 30 miles/hour (50 km/hour)...

Safety in schools. (News and Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Promoting safety in schools: International experience and action is a new publication from the US Bureau of Justice Assistance. It describes European and non-European initiatives, trends in school safety, and critical elements of a...

Incense fires in Dubai. (News and Notes).(fire safety)
December 1, 2002... The sweet smell of bukhour (Arabian incense) can often come with a smell you had not bargained for--the smell of burning. Negligence in the use of bukhour to fumigate the home or clothes often results in major fire hazards, according to Dubai...

50th issue of Hazard. (News and Notes).
December 1, 2002... Hazard, the highly informative publication from Australia's Victoria Injury Surveillance and Applied Research System (VISAR)--formerly known as VISS--celebrates its 50th issue with a detailed review of its achievements. The impressive links...

Buckle up America update. (News and Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Reported constant seat belt use in vehicles with air bags in the US is 85%, five percentage points higher than in vehicles without the devices, a survey by the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports. In addition,...

Drug packaging and dose levels. (News and Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Does the way your medicine is packaged make a difference? It does, when one pill can kill your child. According to a study commissioned by ANEC, the European consumer voice in standardisation, parents have to be aware of the dangers that lie in...

Head restraint positioning. (News and Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Each year there are nearly two million rear-impact vehicle crashes in the US. Industry data show that more than 20% of drivers in rear-impact crashes report neck injuries. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, neck injuries...

European pram and buggy standard--at last. (News and Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... After almost a decade of work, members of CEN, the European standards body, have voted to adopt the European draft standard prEN1888 "Childcare articles--Wheeled child conveyances--Safety requirements and test methods" (the long winded name for...

New multimedia child passenger web site. (News and Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Partners for Child Passenger Safety (PCPS) recently launched a new educational multimedia web site called Car and Booster Seat Safety: Increasing Awareness to Protect Children, www.chop.edu/carscat. The site includes four short movies,...

Evaluating Intervention Evidence. (News and Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... The National Public Health Partnership in Australia has released the fourth "tried and tested" version of their Schema for Evaluating Evidence on Public Health Interventions. The Schema is designed to be applied to evidence in the form of a...

Fancy a cuppa?. (News and Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... This new resource, produced by the Child Accident Prevention Trust to combat cup and mug scalds, comprises a nine minute video, training cards, and a new leaflet for parents and carers and was published in July. Further information:...

Hosting the 8th World Conference. (News and Notes).
December 1, 2002... Hot on the heels of the successful 6th world conference in Montreal, the International Committee of WHO Collaborative Centers is seeking candidates to host the 8th World Conference on Injury Prevention and Control in 2006. Taking into account...

Advert withdrawn on safety grounds. (News and Notes).(television advertisement)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Following a joint complaint to the Advertising Standards Complaints Board from New Zealand safety organisation SafeKids and the Glass Association of New Zealand a television advert has been withdrawn, reports the Plunket publication Safety...

Bells for bikes? (News and Notes).(bike design and safety)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... The UK Department for Transport is undertaking a public consultation on the safe construction of bicycles, including whether they should have a bell to warn pedestrians of their presence. The draft regulations, if approved, will make reference...

Vehicle or not? (News and Notes).(Segway scooter)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... The Segway, the new two wheeled personal scooter or electronic personal assistive mobility device, is creating an uproar in the US as states struggle with whether or not to consider it a motor vehicle. The public health community is concerned...

Rospa resources. (News and Notes).(Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents has a web site www.youngworker.co.uk useful to anyone with responsibility for young people in the workplace, including work experience coordinators, and young people themselves. The site...

Welsh news on-line. (News and Notes).(safety education web site)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... The Welsh safety group, CAPIC, is now circulating its news electronically on a regular basis to keep people informed of new additions to its web site, www.capic.org.uk. The updates will complement the twice yearly hard copy of the newsletter....

Lifestyles of 11-14 year olds. (News and Notes).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... The Child Accident Prevention Trust in association with researchers from the universities of Newcastle upon Tyne and Huddersfield have been researching the lifestyles and leisure risk behaviour of 11-14 year olds. The project is now complete...

School travel risks. (News and Notes).
December 1, 2002... Children are at far more risk travelling to and from school in private passenger vehicles--especially if a teenage driver is involved--than in school buses, says a new report from the US National Academies' Transportation Research Board....

Motor vehicle and fall related deaths among older Americans 1990-98: sex, race, and ethnic disparities. (Original Article).
December 1, 2002... Objectives: To examine differences in motor vehicle and fall related death rates among older adults by sex, race, and ethnicity. Methods: Annual mortality tapes for 1990-98 provided demographic data including race and ethnicity, date, and...

Lipid-lowering agents and the risk of hip fracture in a Medicaid population. (Original Article).
December 1, 2002... Context: Three recent nested case-control studies conducted in automated databases suggest that users of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors (statins) have a risk of hip and other osteoporotic fractures half that of...

Population based study of hospitalised fall related injuries in older people. (Original Article).
December 1, 2002... Objective: This study aimed to identify the distribution of fall related injury in older people hospitalised for acute treatment of injury, in order to direct priorities for prevention. Setting: A follow up study was conducted in the...

Child passenger safety: potential impact of the Washington State booster seat law on childcare centers. (Original Article).
December 1, 2002... Objectives: To examine factors associated with compliance and with perceived readiness for the new Washington State booster seat law, and to identify perceived barriers to compliance among licensed childcare centers. Design/methods:...

Children's poems. (Lacunae).(Poem)
December 1, 2002... Children's poems Walking to school is cool, Walking to school is fun, It keeps you fit and healthy And you can play, skip and run. You can talk to your Mum, You can enjoy the sun, You can meet your friends, And have great...

Assessing community child passenger safety efforts in three Northwest Tribes. (Original Article).
December 1, 2002... Objective: To identify strengths and weaknesses in community based child passenger safety programs by developing a scoring instrument and conducting observations of child restraint use in three Native American communities. Setting: The...

Lacunae.(relationship between music, food habits, and car accident risk)
December 1, 2002... Music and dangerous driving Right About Now, The Funk Soul Brother, Check It Out Now, The Funk Soul Brother...' Fatboy Slim is OK if you're dancing, but a word of warning if you're driving: an Israeli researcher says drivers who listen to...

Effectiveness of Ford's belt reminder system in increasing seat belt use. (Original Article).
December 1, 2002... Objectives: The study investigated the effectiveness in increasing seat belt use of Ford's belt reminder system, a supplementary system that provides intermittent flashing lights and chimes for five minutes if drivers are not belted. ...

Role of individual and contextual effects in injury mortality: new evidence from small area analysis. (Original Article).
December 1, 2002... Objective: To analyse the role of individual and contextual variables in injury mortality inequalities from a small area analysis perspective, looking at the data for the city of Barcelona (Spain) for 1992-98. Setting: Barcelona (Spain)....

Childhood injury prevention practices by parents in Mexico. (Original Article).
December 1, 2002... Objective: Scientifically based injury prevention efforts have not been widely implemented in Latin America. This study was undertaken to evaluate the baseline knowledge and practices of childhood safety on the part of parents in Monterrey,...

Fatal occupational electrocutions in the United States. (Original Article).
December 1, 2002... Introduction: The highest proportions of fatal occupational electrocutions hove occurred among those employed in the electrical trades and in the construction and manufacturing industries. Methods: Data from 1992 through 1999 were obtained...

More children's poems. (Lacunae).(Poem)
December 1, 2002... More children's poems Walk to school every day, It keeps you fit along the way. If you learn your Green Cross Code It will help you safely across the road. No sitting in a very long queue, So that's got to be good for you. ...

Association of rates of household handgun ownership, lifetime major depression, and serious suicidal thoughts with rates of suicide across US census regions. (Original Article).
December 1, 2002... Objective: Cross sectional studies in the United States often find a significant positive association between levels of household firearm ownership and suicide rates. This study investigates whether the association can be explained by...

New Zealand bicycle helmet law--do the costs outweigh the benefits? (Original Article).
December 1, 2002... Objectives: This paper examines the cost effectiveness of the compulsory bicycle helmet wearing law (HWL) introduced in New Zealand on 1 January 1994. The societal perspective of costs is used for the purchase of helmets and the value of...

Identification and characteristics of victims of violence identified by emergency physicians, triage nurses, and the police. (Original Article).
December 1, 2002... Objectives: The objectives of the study were threefold -- to evaluate the identification and characteristics of victims of assault who attend an accident and emergency (A&E) department; to compare the total number of assaults recorded in the...

Effect of helmet wear on the incidence of head/face and cervical spine injuries in young skiers and snowboarders. (Original Article).
December 1, 2002... Purpose: To evaluate whether helmets increase the incidence and/or severity of cervical spine injury; decrease the incidence of head injury; and/or increase the incidence of collisions (as a reflection of adverse effects on peripheral vision...

Lacunae.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... Darwin Awards 2002 Darwin Award nominees get scarier and scarier every year. (The Darwin Awards are given to the person who did the gene pool the biggest service by killing themselves in the most extraordinarily stupid way.) Last year's...

Potential public health importance of the oven ready chip. (Brief Report).
December 1, 2002... Background: Chip pan fires are responsible for 25% of fire related injury in the UK, despite government strategies to encourage safer frying. To establish the feasibility of promoting oven ready chips (fries), the residents in a materially...

Lacunae.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... "Warning: life is dangerous" Councillor George Newhouse suggests a sign in place of lifeguards, after Australia's Supreme Court ordered a city council to pay $2m ($US1.1m) to a swimmer who was paralysed in a diving accident in a patrolled...

Implementation of a system of surveillance of childhood injuries involved in a Safe Community program: the example of Boulogne-Billancourt (France). (Brief Report).
December 1, 2002... Objectives: To provide precise information about child injuries, intended to promote preventive actions, in keeping with the general pattern of a Safe Community program implemented in Boulogne-Billancourt (France) since 1997. Methods:...

Traps for the unwary in estimating person based injury incidence using hospital discharge data. (Methodologic Issues).
December 1, 2002... Background: Injuries resulting in admission to hospital provide an important basis for determining priorities, emerging issues, and trends in injury. There are, however, a number of important issues to be considered in estimating person based...

Association of seat belt use with death: a comparison of estimates based on data from police and estimates based on data from trained crash investigators. (Methodologic Issues).
December 1, 2002... Objective: Estimates of any protective effect of seat belts could be exaggerated if some crash survivors falsely claimed to police that they were belted in order to avoid a fine. The aim of this study was to determine whether estimates of seat...

Drowning in Finland: "external cause" and "injury" codes. (Methodologic Issues).
December 1, 2002... Background: The International Classification of Diseases (ICD) external codes (E codes) for drowning assist in determining the primary event leading to drowning, but do not alone allow the precise determination of the overall drowning rates....

James A Mercy. (Board Member Biography).(Brief Article)
December 1, 2002... James A Mercy is the Associate Director for Science of the Division of Violence Prevention in the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). He received his PhD in sociology from...

Letters.(Letter to the Editor)
December 1, 2002... Studying homicide in the home and how guns are kept Having a gun in the home appears to increase the risk of homicide victimization (1) and perpetration. (2) Some strategies to prevent gunshot deaths focus on firearm design and distribution...

Injury Control: A Guide to Research and Program Evaluation. (Book Review).(Book Review)
December 1, 2002... Edited by FP Rivara, P Cummings, TD Koepsell, DC Grossman, and RV Maier. (Pp 304; [pounds sterling]65 hardback.) Cambridge University Press, 2001. ISBN 0-521-661528. Fred Rivara, the principal editor of this book, ends the introductory...

Calendar.
December 1, 2002... Successful partnership working 11-12 November 2002, York, UK. The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accident's Home Safety Congress focuses on creating, maintaining, and sustaining partnership working. Further details can be found on...

Lacunae.
December 1, 2002... Red light monitors save lives An audit of California's red light enforcement cameras credits the technology with curbing accidents but urges local governments to take better command of their programs. In the most exhaustive look at the...

Splinters & fragments.
December 1, 2002... Two contributors to the 1999 Institute of Medicine report on injury control have written a thoughtful article on the origins of the injury field within public health, its current role, and some challenges facing us. They argue that to define...