Injury epidemiology
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Injury epidemiology · Apr 2018
Gun carrying among freshmen and sophomores in Chicago, New York City and Los Angeles public schools: the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2007-2013.
This study evaluated trends and risk factors over time for self-reported gun carrying among freshman and sophomore public school students in Chicago, New York City and Los Angeles, chosen as high profile cities with different levels of firearm violence. ⋯ There was a much higher self-reported rate of gun carrying and a higher burden of violence exposure in Chicago as compared to New York City and Los Angeles. Students' exposure to violence extended to other stressors illuminated by the YRBS including fighting, perceptions of safety, and other high-risk behaviors. Through the violence index we created, we are better able to categorize the most high-risk individuals and describe the magnitude of their increased likelihood to carry a gun.
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Injury epidemiology · Apr 2018
Open-access programs for injury categorization using ICD-9 or ICD-10.
The article introduces Programs for Injury Categorization, using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) and R statistical software (ICDPIC-R). Starting with ICD-8, methods have been described to map injury diagnosis codes to severity scores, especially the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) and Injury Severity Score (ISS). ICDPIC was originally developed for this purpose using Stata, and ICDPIC-R is an open-access update that accepts both ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes. ⋯ The ideal methods of injury categorization and injury severity scoring involve trained personnel with access to injured persons or their medical records. ICDPIC-R may be a useful substitute when this ideal cannot be obtained.
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Injury epidemiology · Mar 2018
Electronic nicotine delivery system (ENDS) battery-related burns presenting to US emergency departments, 2016.
Currently, an estimated 7.9 million US adults use electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS). Although published reports have identified fires and explosions related to use of ENDS since 2009, these reports do not provide national estimates of burn injuries associated with ENDS batteries in the US. ⋯ Our study provides valuable information for understanding the current burden of ENDS battery-related burn injuries treated in US EDs. The nature and circumstances of the injuries suggest these incidents were unintentional and would potentially be prevented through battery design requirements, battery testing standards and public education related to ENDS battery safety.
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Injury epidemiology · Dec 2017
ReviewLetters to the editor in response to studies of guns in the home and homicide and suicide.
Letters to the editor are an important venue for scientific discussion and ensuring accountability of authors and editors. We investigated the content and tone of letters to the editor published in response to research on having a firearm in the home as it relates to homicide and suicide. ⋯ Letters to the editor in response to epidemiologic research on guns in the home contain considerable content that minimally advances scientific discussion; author responses meet a higher standard for science and civility, as do letters to the editor regarding research topics other than firearms. The scientific study of firearm violence could be better served with more letters containing greater scientific commentary and dissent.
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Injury epidemiology · Dec 2017
Longitudinal Research on Aging Drivers (LongROAD): study design and methods.
As an important indicator of mobility, driving confers a host of social and health benefits to older adults. Despite the importance of safe mobility as the population ages, longitudinal data are lacking about the natural history and determinants of driving safety in older adults. ⋯ Results of the LongROAD project will generate much-needed evidence for formulating public policy and developing intervention programs to maintain safe mobility while ensuring well-being for older adults.