Injury prevention : journal of the International Society for Child and Adolescent Injury Prevention
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To estimate the magnitude of the dog bite problem in the US. ⋯ More attention and research needs to be devoted to the prevention of dog bites. Potential prevention strategies include: educational programs on canine behavior, especially directed at children; laws for regulating dangerous or vicious dogs; enhanced animal control programs; and educational programs regarding responsible dog ownership and training. Unfortunately, the relative or absolute effectiveness of any of these strategies has not been assessed. Continuing surveillance for dog bites will be needed if we are to better understand how to reduce the incidence of dog bites and evaluate prevention efforts.
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Comparative Study
Motor vehicle occupant injuries in children 2 years and younger: a comparison between Western Australia and New South Wales 1982-92.
To compare the age specific rate of passenger injury and associated restraint use for children 2 years and younger in the state of Western Australia (WA), with the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia for the period 1982-92. ⋯ As at 1992, WA's population age specific passenger injury rate for children 0-2 years was more than twice the rate in NSW. The comparable rate of reported restraint use by injured children 0-2 years in WA and NSW suggests that non-use of restraints cannot be singled out as the most likely cause of WA's comparatively high rate of injury. It is difficult to determine whether the disparity in rates could be explained by the child passenger's exposure to crash risk factors, as little is known about child passenger levels of exposure to these factors. Further research is needed to address this issue.
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To assess the usefulness of a centralised injury database in monitoring progress towards nationally set health targets for the reduction of childhood injuries. ⋯ Proximity to accident and emergency departments is a strong determinant of the use of the service by children with overall injuries, and injuries occurring at home. The lack of a significant association between travel distance and injuries resulting in fractures suggests that it is more meaningful to use a centralised database of accident and emergency department attendances to monitor the more severe spectrum of childhood injuries in assessing progress towards national targets for their reduction. The absence of an association between severe injuries and local socioeconomic factors suggests that national targets for the reduction of socioeconomic differentials in childhood injuries may need to be reassessed. These databases are also useful in generating information to direct preventive strategies and to target resources to areas of greatest need.