Researchers from the Center for Injury Research and Prevention (CIRP) at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found discrepancies between crash reports and hospital data that might paint an incomplete or inaccurate picture of how crashes impact the safety of child passengers. Enhancing the quality of injury data reported in crash reports can aid researchers in assessing the effectiveness of various transportation safety strategies for children. The findings were recently published by the .
Traffic remain the leading cause of unintentional injury and death for , and approximately 80% involve children riding as passengers in . Child Restraint Systems (CRS) are important in reducing the risk of severe injuries. However, to date, no study has specifically compared crash- and hospital-reported injuries among child passengers involved in crashes.
Incorrect information in a crash , the most used source of motor vehicle crash injury data, can hinder the evaluation of how effectively CRS or vehicle technology reduces injuries. "Our study demonstrated crash-involved child passengers' injury information, specifically injury frequency, location, and severity, are reported differently across crash reports and hospital records," said first study author Emma Sartin, Ph.D.
, MPH, CPST, research scientist with the NJ-SHO Center for Integrated Data at CHOP. "This could misrepresent our understanding of how many children are injured in crashes, as well as the types of injuries they may exp.