Injury-related deaths are on a downward trend, federal agencies report
DEPARTMENTS
Dispatches
Midway through a national campaign to reduce injury-related deaths, statistics indicate that some of the objectives are being met.
Representatives from several federal agencies, including the U.S. Fire Administration, met last year to assess the status of injury prevention objectives set in 1979. Those findings were reported in the March 11 issue of the Centers for Disease Control’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Among the categories studied were residential fire deaths, motor vehicle fatalities, the home injury death rate for children under age 15, and drowning deaths.
Officials set a goal of reducing the number of residential fire deaths to no more than 4,500 per year by 1990; in 1984, the number of such deaths was 4,466. The overall annual mortality rate in that category dropped 21 percent, from 2.4 residential fire deaths per 100,000 persons in 1978 to 1.9 in 1984.
The findings also confirmed some familiar fire trends. The death rate from residential fires is highest in the South and lowest in the West. By age group, it’s highest among people over 65, followed by children under age 5. It was reported that cigarettes are involved in half of all deaths caused by residential fires, and that those fires are often caused by people smoking in bed. Smoke detectors, according to the report, cut the risk of death in residential fires in half.
Officials are hopeful that the motor vehicle mortality rate will be no greater than 18 per 100,000 population by 1990. The rate, which was 23.6 per 100,000 in 1978, dropped to 19 per 100,000 by 1984. It’s expected that the 1990 goal will be met, although the number of licensed drivers, miles traveled, and registered motor vehicles continues to grow.
The increased use of seat belts and the reduction of alcohol-related fatalities are two positive trends that have emerged. The use of seat belts has gone from less than 13 percent to more than 39 percent in 1986, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. And arrests for alcohol-impaired driving went from about 500,000 in 1978 to 1.7 million in 1986.
The home injury death rate for children under age 15 has followed a steadily declining pattern. The 1984 rate was 4.9 per 100,000 children, reaching the goal of reducing the number to 5.0 by 1990. Such deaths, when they occur, are usually from fires, suffocation, falls, firearms, and poisoning. Deaths have been reduced in all categories except poisoning. Children under age 1 are the highest risk group for home deaths, suffocation being the most common.
One goal that isn’t expected to be met by 1990 is the rate of deaths by drowning. Officials want to see a rate of 1.5 deaths per 100,000 persons; in 1984, the rate was 2.3. More people are involved with boating, which exposes more people to the possibility of drowning, according to the report. While boating-related fatalities are down, the National Research Council notes that alcohol use by boat operators is recognized as a contributing factor in boat deaths.
According to the report, meeting the 1990 standards and developing standards for the year 2000 will necessitate establishing and improving injury surveillance systems; expanding injury control research; developing ways to evaluate injury control methods; coordinating efforts of public agencies; and mobilizing the assistance of public, private, and industrial institutions.
