Journal
JOURNAL OF PEDIATRIC SURGERY
Volume 42, Issue 1, Pages 172-177Publisher
W B SAUNDERS CO-ELSEVIER INC
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2006.09.015
Keywords
infant; injury; health disparities; prevention
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Purpose: Injury epidemiology is the underappreciated foundation of injury prevention and control strategies. Given the substantial disparity of infant injury-related mortality between African Americans (AA) and whites in our region, we sought to better understand the epidemiology of infant injury-related mortality rates. Methods: Our trauma database was reviewed for all infant injuries over a 10-year period. The mortality rates were analyzed based on race, mechanism, and health insurance type. Results: From 1995 to 2004, 1270 infants were identified. Sixty-nine percent were white, 26% AA, and 5% were other. Overall mortality was 4.8%. There were significant disparities in mortality comparing AA to whites: overall, 9.6% vs 2.8%*; abuse, 15% vs 4%*; suffocation, 100% vs 55%* (*P < .05). Although 75% of AA vs 40% of whites were insured by Medicaid, when separated by insurance type, the disparity in mortality rates between races remained significant. Conclusions: African-American infants have 3.5 times increased risk of death from preventable injuries compared to white infants. This disparity persists despite controlling for type of health insurance, a surrogate for socioeconomic status. Understanding these disparities and developing injury-prevention programs targeting high-risk mechanisms of injury such as abuse and suffocation among AA is critical toward eventually eliminating these preventable deaths. (c) 2007 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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