Title: Environmental Approaches to Injury Prevention
1Environmental Approaches to Injury Prevention
- Susan P. Baker, MPH
- Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and
Policy
2Unintentional and Intentional Injury
- Common approaches are often appropriate
regardless of intent - shootings personalized weapons would prevent
some injuries regardless of intent - poisonings the reduced carbon monoxide content
of cooking gas lowered both unintentional and
suicidal death rates
3Passive (automatic) protection is needed because
those at greatest risk of injury are
- Young children
- Teenage males
- Elderly people
- Intoxicated people
- Namely, the people whose behavior is hardest to
change.
4- Unintentional Poisoning Death Rates from Carbon
Monoxide, U.S. 1947-79 - The period when states gradually converted to
non-poisonous natural gas an example of passive
protection and its effects.
Deaths/100,000
5Correlation Between Hazardous Driving
and
Self-protectionLESS SEATBELT USE IF
- High speed
- High risk situations
- following too closely
- running red lights
- Nighttime
- Young drivers
- Alcohol-impaired drivers
6People take risks because of
- Economic pressure
- Productivity pressure
- Competition pressure
- Peer pressure
- Time pressure
They will often choose speed and convenience.
7The safest way must be the easiest way,or people
will make a hazardous choice.
8These Sri Lankans are crossing the river using
the safe walkway because it is easier than
fighting the traffic.
Photo by SP Baker
9Injuries Among the Hopi IndiansSimpson et al.
JAMA 2491873-76, 1983
- Population based study all Hopis treated in the
two relevant IHS hospitals - The authors read the hospital discharge records
- Visited homes, villages to examine setting
- Circumstances that were revealed
- Falls from roofs
- Hangings in jail
- Kids falling from pickup trucks
- Single-vehicle crashes narrow, winding steep
roads without shoulders or guardrails
10The hazardous environment of a Hopi village.
11Baltimores beautiful Harborplace. The white
areas between these bricks are just for
decoration.
Photo by SP Baker
12Nearby, similar white areas mark a change in
level.
What happens if someone is looking upward?
Photo by SP Baker
13As I puzzled over how best to illustrate the
hazard, I heard a sudden cry.
Photo by SP Baker
14 Photo by SP Baker
15Residential facilities for the elderly are an
environment where there are an exceptional number
of high-risk people needing protection
16The water temp at this retirement home was 180
degrees hot enough to poach eggs.
Photo by SP Baker
17The cabinets were so high that someone would
need to stand on a chair or stepstool to reach
them. The sharp corner of the hood over the
stove was at eye level
Photo by SP Baker
18After her forehead healed, she put the bandaid
on the sharp corner in case she hit it again.
Photo by SP Baker
19Photo by SP Baker
She was 92 years old, and like most seniors did
not lift her feet high with each step. If she
were to trip, there was no railing and the
surface was hard cement.
20 To call attention to the tripping hazard, a
WHITE stripe -- unlikely to be noticed by
anyone with poor eyesight.
Photo by SP Baker
21One of these held glue, the other had eyedrops.
Some people who needed eyedrops did not see
well. Some glued their eyelids shut. The glue
manu- facturers should have predicted that and
used another shape.
22Deaths in Housefires
- The leading cause of injury death among children
in some cities. - Often they are ignited by smoldering cigarettes
(cigarettes can be designed to reduce the
likelihood that they will ignite fabric)
23(No Transcript)
2455 Housefire Deaths in BaltimoreRecord Review
Showed.
- 31 (56) in cigarette-ignited fires
- 12/31 (39) not the smokers of the cigarettes
- BAC gt.10 in half of cigarette-ignited fires
- Highest rates were in low-income areas
Mierley and Baker, JAMA 2491466-8,1983
2540 Fatal Housefires in Baltimorevs. Median
Rental Value Quintile
EXPECTED OBSERVED
QUINTILE
1 8 10
2 8 13
3 8 8
4 8 5
5 8 3
Mierley and Baker, JAMA 2491466-8,1983
26 The sign is hard to read from ground level.
Photo by AJ Saah
27Even if it could be read, this might
not discourage a young climber
Photo by AJ Saah
28...especially one inspired by nearby
climbing equipment.
Photo by AJ Saah
29OSHA might require someone working at this
height to have some form of protection. We just
say Be careful, Timmy, and dont push.
Photo by SP Teret
30This slide is built into a hill. It is steep
enough to give a child a good ride, but even a
fall from the top is not likely to cause injury.
Photo by SP Baker
31 Walkers place toddlers at high risk of falls
down stairs. Heres a low-risk alternative.
32Pacifiers like the one at left were small enough
to enter a childs airway. CPSC eventually
banned them.
Photo by SP Baker
33Some foods place children at high risk of choking.
Photo by SP Baker
34Foods that Caused Death of U.S. Children
- 17 hot dogs/sausages
- 9 peanuts/nuts
- 8 grapes
- 6 carrots
- 4 beans
- 4 hard candies
Harris, Baker et al JAMA 2512231-2235, 1984.
35Characteristics of FoodsLikely to Cause Fatal
Choking
- Smooth
- Hard or tough
- Small
- Airway-sized
- Round
- Pliable
- Cohesive
36If the water is gt120 F and mom has to answer the
phone, disaster can result.
37Effectiveness varies inversely with frequency or
amount of effort e.g. - To Protect A Child From
Scalding
Resulting Protection
Prevent discharge gt120 F
MAX
Adjust valve on heater
Watch child
MIN
MAX
MIN
Frequency or Amount of Effort
38Should there be a committee that screens the
safety of baby/toddler products before they go on
the market?
Will this encourage the caretaker to leave for a
moment?
39Messages such as this are too often unseen or
ignored.
40Whose Decisions Determine Injury?
- Designers
- Administrators
- Legislators
- Regulators
- Architects
- City planners
Therefore we need to educate the decision-makers.
41Drownings in Australia, Ages 1-4Two cities with
similar ratios of pools but different fencing
regs.
Pools /100 homes Drownings /100,000 children
Canberra (no fencing) 9 2.7
Brisbane (fencing mandated) 8 0.3
42Airbag regulations followed years of work by
scientists and advocates. (Initial deaths of
unrestrained children resulted in design changes.)
43Findings re Compact Pickup Trucks
- Children in 2nd row of compact pickups
- Higher risk of injury than front row occupants
- Predominantly head injuries
- Higher injury risk than children in 2nd row of
other vehicles - Higher risk of contact
- Higher risk of injury given contact
- Design of vehicles is decided by manufacturers
who can be influenced by data.
44Injuries to Child Passengers by Vehicle
TypeFrequency of AIS 2 head injuriesWinston et
al. JAMA 287,1147-1152, 2002
PUpickup
45Photo by AL Dannenberg
Look closely do you think warnings work??
46Contributors
- Andrew L. Dannenberg, MD
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control
- Alfred J. Saah, MD
- Merck Research Labs
- Stephen P. Teret, JD
- Johns Hopkins School of Public Health