CHILD PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENTS IN CENTRAL HARLEM

THE MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM OF CHILD PEDESTRIAN ACCIDENTS RE-MORBIDITY IS EMPHASIZED TO INDICATE THE LACK OF AVAILABLE USEFUL DATA, AND TO SUGGEST A MORE USEFUL APPROACH TO THE STUDY OF THE PROBLEM. FROM RESEARCH CARRIED OUT AT THE HARLEM HOSPITAL CENTER, SERVING 350,000 PEOPLE IN 1964, IT IS FOUND THAT 10.8 PER CENT OF ADMISSIONS TO THE SURGICAL WARD WERE FOR AUTO-INFLICTED INJURIES. 94 CHILDREN WERE SERIOUSLY INJURED; 4 WERE DEAD ON ARRIVAL; 15 WERE HOSPITALIZED FOR 4 WEEKS OR MORE. THE AVERAGE AGE OF THE CHILDREN ADMITTED WAS 6.3 YEARS, AND THE MAJORITY OF CHILDREN HIT BY CARS WERE MALES. THE PEAK ACCIDENT MONTH WAS MAY, WHICH INCLUDED 20% OF ALL ACCIDENTS. THE POLICE DEPARTMENT RECORD OF THE ACCIDENT ANALYSIS UNIT SHOWED THAT 716 PEDESTRIANS 15 YEARS OLD OR YOUNGER WERE INJURED BY AUTOMOBILES IN HARLEM IN 1964 AND OF THESE, 5 DIED AND 19 OTHERS WERE IN CRITICAL CONDITION. DIFFERENCES IN POLICE FIGURES AND HOSPITAL FIGURES ARE: (1) MANY CHILDREN WERE NOT INJURED SUFFICIENTLY TO RECEIVE HOSPITAL ATTENTION, AND (2) AN UNKNOWN NUMBER OF ACCIDENT VICTIMS WERE EXAMINED AND/OR TREATED AT OTHER AREA HOSPITALS. WHILE FORMS FILLED OUT AT THE SCENE OF THE ACCIDENT BY POLICE ARE FOUND TO BE USEFUL, NO FOLLOW-UP DATA APPEAR; HOSPITAL RECORDS PROVIDE MEDICAL DATA BUT LITTLE OR NO INFORMATION ON THE ACCIDENT ITSELF. THE FOLLOWING SUGGESTIONS ARE MADE: (A) AN OVER-ALL EPIDEMIOLOGICAL APPROACH SHOULD BE DESIGNED BY SCHOOLS OF PUBLIC HEALTH IN COOPERATION WITH CITY AGENCIES AND HOSPITALS. (B) DATA GATHERED BY POLICE AND HOSPITAL SHOULD BE COMPUTERIZED AND MADE AVAILABLE FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES. AREAS OF HIGHER ACCIDENTS INCIDENCE AND FACTORS COMMON TO ACCIDENTS COULD THEN BE PINPOINTED. (C) HOSPITALS SHOULD GATHER AND SUBMIT DATA RELATED TO THE INJURY INCLUDING FOLLOW-UP MATERIAL, AND DATA ON THE FAMILY AND SOCIAL BACKGROUND OF THE INJURED CHILDREN (DONE BY THE HOSPITAL'S DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICE).

• Supplemental Notes:
  • pp 270-274, 3 CHARTS, 2 TAB
• Corporate Authors:

  New York Medicine

  ,    
• Authors:
  • Shaw, A
  • Pascasio, P R
• Publication Date: 1967-6

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Adolescents; Automobiles; Cities; Crash analysis; Data collection; Fatalities; Hospitals; Injuries; Pedestrian vehicle crashes; Police; Records management; Traffic crashes
• Uncontrolled Terms: Records
• Old TRIS Terms: Minors
• Subject Areas: Finance; Highways; Safety and Human Factors; Security and Emergencies;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00220821
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: Nat Safety Council Safety Res Info Serv
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Sep 9 1970 12:00AM