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The overarching purpose of this project is to improve existing injury prevention promotional materials produced by BCCH CHIRPP and BCIRPU, as well as to address the dearth of information available to parents and caregivers of young children. The specific objective of this study is to develop material on drowning prevention that is targeted toward parents and caregivers of children aged five and under and to evaluate this material in order to determine its appropriateness and utility. The results of the evaluation will provide CHIRPP, BCIRPU and injury prevention material developers with valuable information on the needs and perspectives of our target population of parents of preschool aged children. This information will then be used to help modify injury prevention materials that are displayed and distributed at the BCCH emergency department.

A systematic review of the current literature was undertaken to evaluate the efficacy of various intervention strategies for reducing the risk and rate of motor vehicle crashes (MVC) involving older drivers. Six different types of strategies which included: driver-related, vehicle-related, road infrastructure-related, clinical-related, legal- and policy-related, and screening strategies were assessed for effectiveness. Further, risk factors pertaining to older driver-related MVCs were researched. Based on the collective evidence, a plan has been formulated for a comprehensive final report of all the systematically searched publications for the period 1990 to 2007 related to older driver safety.

Data were collected in 2003, 2005 and 2007, in which a total of 273 (41%), 228 (39%), and 176 (33%) youth respectively, reported having at least one serious injury. Those reporting more than one injury declined from 19% in 2003 and 2005 to 12% in 2007. The leading types of injury were sprains/strains, broken bones and bruises. Most injuries occurred while playing sport, falling/tripping, biking or rollerblading. The location where injuries occurred included recreation centers (↑ 12-15%), schools (↓ 24%-9%), and workplaces (↑ 2% -14.5%). Most injuries were treated at emergency departments; walk-in clinics or health professional’s office (↑ 71% -83.5%). Prevention included: doing nothing; being more careful; giving up the activity; and rehabilitation or physiotherapy. The total direct cost of treatment was $471,498, at a mean direct cost of $775 per injury. Strategies targeted at subgroups of adolescents are needed to reduce the human and economic burden of injury.

Children and Youth in British Columbia: Injury by Ages and Stages 2003‐2007 looks at the current injury mortality, hospitalization and emergency data to describe child and youth injury statistics and patterns in BC.

The objective of this review was to assess the risk of obesity in injuries and fatalities resulting from motor vehicle crash (MVC), as compared with individuals with a normal-range body mass index. A systematic review of the literature was conducted yielding 824 potential studies. Nine of these studies met our inclusion criteria. Meta-analyses examining obesity as a risk factor for various injury types and risk of fatality were conducted using data from these studies. Obesity was associated with higher fatality risk (odds ratio [OR] = 1.89, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.51-2.37, P = .0001; pooled estimate from 6 studies), and increased risk of lower extremity fractures (OR = 1.39, 95% CI = 1.18-1.65, P = .0001; pooled estimate from 2 studies). No significant differences were observed when considering abdominal injuries or pelvic fractures. Interestingly, for head injuries obesity was a protective factor (OR = 0.67, 95% CI = 0.46-0.97, P = .0001; pooled data from 3 studies). Evidence strongly supports the association of obesity with higher fatality and fractures of the lower extremities in MVCs. Contrary to our hypothesis, 3 studies showed that obesity was a protective factor in reducing head injuries. Furthermore, the review shows that obesity was not a risk factor of MVC-related pelvic fractures and abdominal injuries.