Researchers have identified differences between car crash reports and hospital data, which may lead to a misleading understanding of how crashes affect child passenger safety. Improving the accuracy of injury data in crash reports could help researchers evaluate how well various transportation safety measures work for children.
A team from the Center for Injury Research and Prevention (CIRP) at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) discovered inconsistencies between crash reports and hospital records, raising concerns about an incomplete or inaccurate portrayal of child passenger safety during accidents. Enhancing the quality of injury data captured in crash reports is crucial for researchers to analyze the effectiveness of different transportation safety interventions for young passengers. The results of this study were recently published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Traffic accidents continue to be the primary cause of unintentional injuries and fatalities among young children, with around 80% involving kids as vehicle passengers. Child Restraint Systems (CRS) play a critical role in minimizing the risk of severe injuries. However, no studies have yet directly compared injuries reported in crash data to those documented in hospitals regarding child passengers involved in accidents. Inaccuracies in crash reports—the leading source for motor vehicle crash injury statistics—can obstruct the assessment of how effectively CRS and vehicle technologies mitigate injuries.
“Our research showed that the information about injuries sustained by child passengers in crashes—particularly the frequency, location, and severity of injuries—is reported inconsistently between crash reports and hospital documentation,” stated Emma Sartin, PhD, MPH, CPST, a research scientist with the NJ-SHO Center for Integrated Data at CHOP and the study’s lead author. “This inconsistency might misrepresent how many children actually get injured in crashes and the nature of their injuries. Given that this information often guides the allocation of funding for traffic safety initiatives and programs, inaccuracies could result in misallocation of resources away from the communities that need them most.”
Using information from the New Jersey Safety and Health Outcomes (NJ-SHO) Data Warehouse, researchers looked at child passengers under 13 who were involved in crashes between 2017 and 2019, comparing their documented injuries in both crash reports and hospital records. They analyzed injury frequency, severity, location, and the occurrence of injuries based on age and type of restraint used.
Out of 84,060 child passengers involved in crashes, researchers found that crash reports indicated 7,858 (9%) children had at least “possible” injuries, whereas only 2,577 (3%) of these children had any documented injuries in hospital records. There were inconsistencies between crash and hospital data regarding both the injured body parts and the severity of injuries.
Notably, in the small group of children who had recorded injuries, most were classified as “minor.” However, the likelihood of injury increased with the type of CRS used; children in rear-facing car seats had the least injuries compared to those restrained with seat belts, who faced more serious injuries in this study group. These outcomes reinforce previous findings that suggest delaying transitions between types of CRS is important.
“Our study indicates that crash and hospital reports offer different perspectives on the injuries suffered by child passengers, leading to essential implications for injury research, CRS development, and policymaking. We are particularly worried about the rising injury rates among older children and those not using CRS,” noted Rachel K. Myers, PhD, senior author and associate director of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention (CIRP) at CHOP. “We believe it is crucial to understand the hurdles in keeping children securely restrained in age-appropriate CRS as part of our ongoing efforts to safeguard them, and studies like this are only made possible by extensive data linkages connected with public health initiatives.”
This research received support from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development grant K99HD10592 and the Center for Child Injury Prevention Studies (CChIPS).
