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Abstract
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Recent injury data collected by the Victorian Injury Surveillance and Applied Research System (VISS), suggests the current resurgence in scooter use by children is associated with increases in the numbers of children injured, some extremely seriously.
With the increasing popularity of micro-scooters, injuries to children have increased from an average of 9.5 annually (1996 to 1999) to 153 cases predicted for 2000 if there is no further increase in scooter exposure. This figure is based upon 128 cases of injury for January to September 2000. However, considering the observed monthly rate of growth in scooter exposure, we project as many as 320 scooter related injuries in Victoria alone for 2000. Nationally, between 750 and 1500 Australian children may suffer injury as a result of riding a scooter by the end of 2000.
Data for the first nine months of 2000 reveals the majority of scooter related injuries are to children aged 10-14 years (55.5%). Compared with 1999, the first nine months of 2000 are associated with a sixfold increase in injuries to children aged less than 4 years (p<0.001) and a close to fivefold increase (4.7) in injuries to children aged 10-14 years (p<0.001). Interestingly, there has been a 15-fold increase in injuries sustained by children aged 5-9 years (p<0.001).
More males (64.1%) than females were injured while using scooters and 10.2% of all children injured required hospitalization. Not surprisingly, 70% of injuries occurred at home and on streets or footpaths. Head injuries accounted for 21.8% of all injuries, of which one quarter were intracranial injuries. Fractures (31.3%) and sprains and strains (21.1%) were common, and usually involved the upper limbs (82.5% and 70.4% respectively).
It is hoped that increased public awareness and new legislation requiring the wearing of safety equipment while riding a scooter will contribute to a reduction in the number of scooter injuries. |