Childhood injury rates in Manitoba: socioeconomic influences.
BACKGROUND
Injury is the leading cause of death among Canadian children between 1 and 19 years, and accounts for one sixth of all hospitalizations of children between 0 and 19 years. We examined the causes of injury in Manitoba children, and the relationship between injury rates and region of residence, premature mortality rate (PMR), and income.


METHODS
Regional differences in injury death and hospitalization rates, and causes of injury were derived from the Population Health Research Data Repository. The relationship between injury rates and area income levels was assessed and correlations between regional premature mortality rates (PMR) and injury rates were calculated.


RESULTS
Motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of injury mortality. Falls were the leading cause of injury hospitalization. Regional differences were substantial. Rural-urban differences in injury rates were pronounced; northern Manitoba's rates were very high compared to the rest of the province. Regional PMR values correlated significantly with injury mortality and hospitalization rates. Both types of injury rates correlated significantly with income; higher injury rates were associated with lower income levels.


CONCLUSIONS
Injuries are not random events, but are related to social factors.
Brownell
Marni
M
Manitoba Centre for Health Policy, Department of Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB. Marni_Brownell@cpe.umanitoba.ca
Friesen
David
D
Mayer
Teresa
T
D000063:Accidents, Traffic / Q000401:mortality / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002669:Child Welfare / Q000208:ethnology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008350:Manitoba / Q000453:epidemiology; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012040:Regional Health Planning; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013405:Suicide / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000401:mortality