A comparison of school injuries between children with and without disabilities

Marizen Ramirez; Erin Fillmore; Alex Chen; Corinne Peek-Asa

doi:10.1016/j.acap.2010.06.003

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A comparison of school injuries between children with and without disabilities

Journal article

Peer reviewed

A comparison of school injuries between children with and without disabilities

Marizen Ramirez, Erin Fillmore, Alex Chen and Corinne Peek-Asa

Academic pediatrics, Vol.10(5), pp.317-322

09/2010

DOI: 10.1016/j.acap.2010.06.003

PMID: 20674529

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to compare rates, nature, and mechanisms of school injuries in children with and without disabilities. We conducted a retrospective cohort study with repeated measures of 269 919 children with and without disabilities who were enrolled in 35 adapted schools from a large urban school district. Reports of injuries sustained from 1994 to 1998 were collected by the district's insurance division, and disability was assessed using special education guidelines determined by the California Department of Education. A generalized estimating equations model was used to estimate rate ratios, accounting for the repeated, nested nature of the data. Children with disabilities had more than double the rate of injury reported than children without disabilities (incidence density ratio [IDR] 2.3, 95% CI, 2.2-2.5). Almost one third of these injuries were due to fights, roughhousing, and assaults. Among all disabled children, those with orthopedic disabilities had the highest risk, with rates over 5 times that of children without disabilities (IDR 5.4, 95% CI, 4.4-6.6). Children with cognitive disabilities had comparatively lower rates of injury than children with physical disabilities. For children with disabilities, physical impairment may play a greater role than cognitive impairment in managing risk for injury at school. Individual education programs (IEP), developed for children in special education, could be tailored to include injury prevention strategies.

Child

Disabled Children - statistics & numerical data

Education, Special

Female

Humans

Learning Disorders - epidemiology

Los Angeles

Male

Retrospective Studies

Schools

Wounds and Injuries - epidemiology

Details

Title: Subtitle: A comparison of school injuries between children with and without disabilities
Creators: Marizen Ramirez - University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center, Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, College of Public Health, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242-5000, USA. marizen-ramirez@uiowa.edu
Erin Fillmore
Alex Chen
Corinne Peek-Asa
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Academic pediatrics, Vol.10(5), pp.317-322
DOI: 10.1016/j.acap.2010.06.003
PMID: 20674529
NLM abbreviation: Acad Pediatr
ISSN: 1876-2859
eISSN: 1876-2867
Grant note: R49CCR703640 / PHS HHS CCR 903622 / PHS HHS
Language: English
Date published: 09/2010
Academic Unit: Occupational and Environmental Health; Epidemiology; Nursing; Public Policy Center (Archive)
Record Identifier: 9984215050202771

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