Bicycle-Related Head Injury Rate in Canada over the Past 10 Years

Bicycle use is common among Canadian children. Legislation to promote bicycle helmet use varies by province and previous publications examining the association between legislation and head injuries are now outdated due to changes in legislation status over time. The objective of this study was to determine bicycle-related injury rates (head and other injuries) in Canada over the past 10 years using hospitalization data as well to compare those provinces with and without legislation. Childhood bicycle related injuries were extracted from the Canadian Institute for Health Information hospital admissions database. Injury rates were calculated for each province for children aged 5-19 using 2001 census data. During the 10 years there were 23,685 hospital admissions due to bicycle-related injuries among Canadian children age 5-19 (76% men and 24% women). A total of 22% of the children sustained a head injury while 78% had other injuries due to a bicycle incident. The study showed that 22% of men and 21% of women incurred a head injury and the injury rate varied by age group and by provincial legislation status. In general the rate of head injuries is declining, but this is not consistent across the country, nor is it attributable to legislation as some provinces with legislation experienced a decline while others did not. Although bicycle-related injuries are generally declining, this decline is not consistent, nor is it clearly associated with helmet laws.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/13538047
• Authors:
  • Middaugh-Bonney, T
  • Pike, I
  • Brussoni, M
  • Piedt, S
  • Macpherson, A
• Conference:
  • Safety 2010. 10th World Conference
  • Location: London , United Kingdom
  • Date: 2010-9-21 to 2010-9-24
• Publication Date: 2010-9

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Pagination: v.p.
• Monograph Title: Safety 2010 World Conference
• Serial:
  • Injury Prevention
  • Volume: 16
  • Issue Number: Supplement 1
  • Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
  • ISSN: 1353-8047
  • EISSN: 1475-5785
  • Serial URL: http://injuryprevention.bmj.com/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bicycle crashes; Bicycle helmets; Crash injuries; Crash records; Cyclists; Hospital emergency rooms; Human factors in crashes; Injury severity
• Uncontrolled Terms: Head injuries
• Geographic Terms: Canada
• Subject Areas: Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; I84: Personal Injuries;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01328387
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 31 2011 7:46AM