Abstract

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Background
Keywords
Findings
Authors
What is already known on this subject?
What does this study add?

Background

Because administrative data typically do not contain Aboriginal identifiers, national unintentional injury hospitalization rates among Aboriginal children have not been reported. This study examines rates of unintentional injury hospitalization for children in areas with a high-percentage Aboriginal identity population.

Data and Methods

Data are from the Hospital Morbidity Database (2001/2002 to 2005/2006). Rates of unintentional injury hospitalization were calculated for 0- to 19-year-olds in census Dissemination Areas (DAs) where at least 33% of residents reported an Aboriginal identity. DAs were classified as high-percentage First Nations, Métis or Inuit identity based on the predominant group.

Results

Unintentional injury hospitalization rates of children and youth in high-percentage Aboriginal identity areas were at least double the rate for their contemporaries in low-percentage Aboriginal identity areas. Falls and land transportation were the most common causes of unintentional injury hospitalization, regardless of Aboriginal identity status, but disparities between rates for high- and low-percentage Aboriginal identity areas were often greatest for less frequent causes, such as fire, natural/environmental, and drowning/suffocation.

Interpretation

The geographic areas where children live were associated with hospitalization rates for injury.

Keywords

Child health, drowning, hospital records, Inuit, Métis, poisoning, trauma

Findings

Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death and morbidity among Canadian children. Not only are injuries associated with increased health care costs, hospitalizations and physician care, but injuries sustained in childhood also have consequences that can last throughout the lifecourse. For these reasons, childhood injuries have been identifi ed as a public health issue. Among Aboriginal children, in particular, injury rates have been reported to be relatively high. [Full Text]

Authors

Lisa N. Oliver (lisa.oliver@statcan.gc.ca) is with the Research Data Centre at Simon Fraser University and Dafna E. Kohen (1-613-951-3346; dafna.kohen@statcan.gc.ca) is with the Health Analysis Division at Statistics Canada, Ottawa, Ontario, K1A 0T6.

What is already known on this subject?

Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death and morbidity among Canadian children.
Studies of injury in Aboriginal populations have tended to focus on adults.
Little is known about injury hospitalization rates among Aboriginal children.

What does this study add?

For most causes of unintentional injury, rates of hospitalization are higher for children and youth in areas with a high-percentage (33% or more) of Aboriginal identity residents, compared with those in low-percentage Aboriginal identity areas.
Unintentional injury hospitalization rates for children and youth differed among high-percentage First Nations, Métis and Inuit identity areas.
While hospitalization rates were higher among males, for many causes of unintentional injury, the disparity between high- and low-percentage Aboriginal identity areas was greater among females.