HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS REGISTER		Author Keyword(s) Vol Page [Advanced]

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this link to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Add article to my folders Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Tiesman, H. Articles by Cavanaugh, J. E Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Tiesman, H. Articles by Cavanaugh, J. E

Non-fatal injuries among urban and rural residents: The National Health Interview Survey, 1997–2001

The University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center, Iowa City, Iowa, USA

Correspondence to:
Professor C Zwerling
The University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center, 100 Oakdale Campus, #126 IREH, Iowa City, IA 52242-5000, USA; craig-zwerling{at}uiowa.edu

Objective: Although death rates from injuries are higher in rural areas compared with large metropolitan areas, little is known about how non-fatal injury rates vary by rurality. Data from the 1997–2001 US National Health Interview Surveys were used to explore associations between rurality and non-fatal injury.

Design: A nationally representative survey.

Methods: The annual injury rates per 1000 adults and 95% CIs were computed for medically attended injuries. Counties of residence were coded according to urban influence codes into four categories: large urban, small urban, suburban and rural. A linear-by-linear trend test was used to determine whether injury rates increase monotonically with county rurality. Logistic regression was used to control potential confounders.

Results: Compared with large urban counties, small urban counties experienced 8% higher injury odds (95% CI 1% to 15%); suburban counties 20% higher injury odds (95% CI 10% to 31%); and rural counties 30% higher injury odds (95% CI 17% to 43%) after adjusting for age, gender, marital status, education and health insurance.

Conclusions: Rural residents had higher non-fatal injury rates than urban and suburban residents. Exploring this discrepancy can further contribute to new hypotheses regarding rural injury risk and ultimately lead to better suited interventions for rural residents.

Abbreviations: NCHS, National Center for Health Statistics; NHIS, National Health Interview Survey; UIC, Urban Influence Code