title: Structural housing elements associated with home injuries in children.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To quantify unintentional injuries associated with housing elements among children less than 18 years old treated in US hospital emergency departments.
  
  
  METHODS
  The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) coding manual was reviewed, and all product codes that identified products permanently affixed to a home (housing elements) were identified. A query of the 2008 NEISS data for children under 18 determined the numbers of cases by severity code for each identified housing element. Housing elements were then tabulated by the number of cases for each severity code. The top 10 cases by severity code, (1) hospitalised or (2) treated in emergency departments, were included in a case review. Ten per cent of all cases or a minimum of 100 cases were randomly selected for review for each of the identified housing elements to assess if the case description could inform prevention efforts.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Twelve housing elements (bathtub, cabinet, carpet, ceiling/wall, counter, door, fence, floor, nail, porch, stairs and window) were identified as the leading causes of injuries resulting in hospitalisations or emergency department visits. A list of potential interventions was generated based on the review of the case histories. Suggested changes for NEISS coding are also offered to enhance future prevention research.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NEISS is a valuable tool to identify home injury risks and inform design decisions for housing elements. Improved understanding of housing elements associated with injuries has the potential to enhance home inspection forms. However, interpretation of NEISS results is limited by lack of clarity about how the housing element was involved in the injury event.
authors: Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors: Wendy
authors: W
authors: Shields
authors: Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors: Eileen
authors: E
authors: McDonald
authors: Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors: Shannon
authors: S
authors: Frattaroli
authors: Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors: David
authors: D
authors: Bishai
authors: Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors: Xia
authors: X
authors: Ma
authors: Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
authors: Andrea
authors: A
authors: Gielen
mesh_terms: D000056:Accident Prevention / Q000379:methods*; D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003257:Consumer Product Safety / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006760:Hospitalization; D006798:Housing / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence / Q000592:standards*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control