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The most common behaviors that contribute to injuries among elementary and middle school-aged children include (YRBSS 2003)[i]:
Falls
Inappropriate playground equipment type for age
Poor quality or condition of playground equipment
Inappropriate playground fall surface materials
Unsupervised school playgrounds
Motor Vehicle Occupant
Not being properly restrained in a child safety seat, booster seat, or lap/shoulder belt. Approximately 60% of motor vehicle occupant fatalities could be prevented with appropriate and proper use of a safety seat, booster seat, or lap/shoulder belt.[ii]
Pedestrian-Motor Vehicle
Walking too close towards a school bus and standing too close to the curb at the bus stop. This is due to visibility issues with smaller sized children in blind spots of the bus.
Walking between cars and school buses in school drop off zones.
Not obeying traffic pedestrian laws when walking to school.
Bicycle-Motor Vehicle
Not
wearing a bicycle helmet.
Approximately 65%-88% of
bicycle-related brain injuries,
as well as facial fractures and lacerations could be
prevented with the proper use of an approved bicycle helmet.[iv]
Homicide
While homicides and accidental shootings are not within the top five causes of injury hospitalizations, access to a firearm is a contributing factor to 78% of homicides and 60% of suicides among middle school aged children.[v] It has been estimated that for every firearm-related fatality among individuals 24 years and younger, four more youth are hospitalized due to firearm incidents.[vi] Further, only 40% of homes with both children and firearms, store firearms locked and unloaded. Thus, 60% of homes where there are both children and firearms leave the firearms either unlocked or loaded.[vii]
[i] Trends in the prevalence of behaviors that contribute to violence, National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 1991-2003, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
[ii] National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Benefits of safety belts and motorcycle helmets: report to Congress, February 1996. Washington, DC: US Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 1996
[iii] Thompson RS, Rivara FP, Thompson DC. A case-control study of the effectiveness of bicycle safety helmets. New Engl J Med 1989;320:1361--7
[iv] Thompson DC, Nunn ME, Thompson RS, Rivara FP. Effectiveness of bicycle safety helmets in preventing serious facial injury. JAMA 1996;276:1974--5
[v] Annest JL, Mercy JA, Gibson DR, Ryan GW. National estimates of nonfatal firearm-related injuries: beyond the tip of the iceberg. JAMA 1995;273:1749--54
[vi] Annest JL, Mercy JA, Gibson DR, Ryan GW. National estimates of nonfatal firearm-related injuries: beyond the tip of the iceberg. JAMA 1995;273:1749--54
[vii] Stennies G, Ikeda R, Leadbetter S, Houston B, Sacks J. Firearm storage practices and children in the home, United States, 1994. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 1999;153:586--90
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