International journal of injury control and safety promotion
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Int J Inj Contr Saf Promot · Jan 2014
An epidemiological survey on road traffic crashes in Iran: application of the two logistic regression models.
Risk factors of human-related traffic crashes are the most important and preventable challenges for community health due to their noteworthy burden in developing countries in particular. The present study aims to investigate the role of human risk factors of road traffic crashes in Iran. Through a cross-sectional study using the COM 114 data collection forms, the police records of almost 600,000 crashes occurred in 2010 are investigated. ⋯ Sudden lane excursion (OR = 9.9, 95% CI: 8.2-11.9) and seat belt non-compliance (OR = 8.7, CI: 6.7-10.1), exceeding authorised speed (OR = 17.9, CI: 12.7-25.1) and exceeding safe speed (OR = 9.7, CI: 7.2-13.2) are the most significant human risk factors for traffic crashes in Iran. The high mortality rate of 39 people for every 100,000 population emphasises on the importance of traffic crashes in Iran. Considering the important role of human risk factors in traffic crashes, struggling efforts are required to control dangerous driving behaviours such as exceeding speed, illegal overtaking and not maintaining eyes on the road.
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Int J Inj Contr Saf Promot · Jan 2014
A needle in a haystack: the use of routinely collected emergency department injury surveillance data to help identify physical child abuse.
A retrospective, descriptive analysis of a sample of children under 18 years presenting to a hospital emergency department (ED) for treatment of an injury was conducted. The aim was to explore characteristics and identify differences between children assigned abuse codes and children assigned unintentional injury codes using an injury surveillance database. ⋯ Superficial injury and bruising were the most common types of injury seen in children in the abuse group and the possible abuse group (26.9% and 18.8%, respectively), whereas those with unintentional injury were most likely to present with open wounds (18.4%). This study demonstrates that routinely collected injury surveillance data can be a useful source of information for describing injury characteristics in children assigned abuse codes compared to those assigned no abuse codes.
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Int J Inj Contr Saf Promot · Jan 2014
Factors associated with bicycle-helmet use among 8-16 years aged Turkish children: a questionnaire survey.
The purpose of this cross-sectional, descriptive study was to assess the rates of helmet and to examine variables related to bicycle helmet use in a sample of 8-16 year old Turkish children. Data were collected from a purposive sample of 1180 students who self-identified as cyclists and 1128 parents or guardians in two state primary schools in two urban municipalities in the northern part of Istanbul, Turkey. Results showed that self-reported helmet use was found prevalent in 4.4% of the children. ⋯ Significant differences between helmet users and non-users correlated to gender, age, owning a bicycle helmet, wearing a friend's bicycle helmet and parents or guardian's bicycle helmet use while riding. Only three variables--helmet ownership (OR = 10.028, 95% CI 5.08, 19.79), parents' helmet use (OR = 2.62, 95% CI 1.22, 5.66) and friends' helmet use (OR = 0.16, 95% CI 0.07, 0.37) emerged as significant predictors of the likelihood of helmet use. The relatively low helmet use prevalence points to an urgent need for a multipronged campaign, including strategies such as raising awareness, educating primarly parents and friends, and distributing bicycle helmets for free or at a reduced cost.
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Int J Inj Contr Saf Promot · Jan 2013
Unintentional drowning in urban South Africa: a retrospective investigation, 2001-2005.
Drowning is a major public health concern in low- and middle-income countries. In South Africa there is sound information and an emerging knowledge base for drowning prevention. However, there remains a scarcity of analyses of drowning in the country. ⋯ It provides an indication of drowning rates in South African cities with young children and males at considerably more risk. The most likely locations for drowning varied from city to city. Among adult victims, especially men, alcohol is an important risk factor.