{"id":7992,"date":"2019-05-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-06T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/icesontario.wpengine.com\/news-releases\/ontario-children-getting-hit-by-cars-less-frequently-yet-children-in-low-income-areas-are-still-at-higher-risk-study-finds\/"},"modified":"2023-06-14T18:20:29","modified_gmt":"2023-06-14T22:20:29","slug":"ontario-children-getting-hit-by-cars-less-frequently-yet-children-in-low-income-areas-are-still-at-higher-risk-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"news_release","link":"https:\/\/www.ices.on.ca\/fr\/news-releases\/ontario-children-getting-hit-by-cars-less-frequently-yet-children-in-low-income-areas-are-still-at-higher-risk-study-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"Ontario children getting hit by cars less frequently, yet children in low-income areas are still at higher risk, study finds"},"content":{"rendered":"

Children in lower-income areas are at a higher risk of being injured by motor vehicles than those living in higher-income neighbourhoods in Ontario, according to a new study from The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids), York University and ICES<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\nUsing emergency department data provided by ICES, the research team studied trends in Ontario paediatric emergency department visits due to pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions from 2008 to 2015. The data was divided into five quintiles from lowest-income areas to highest-income areas. This is the first study to analyze household income and rates of pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions in Ontario.<\/p>\n

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\nThis study, published in the April 2019 edition of Injury Prevention<\/em>, reveals that despite a focus of Canadian health policy on reducing socioeconomic disparities in health, the number of emergency department visits involving children who were hit by cars differs by income level, and that children in lower-income areas are at greater risk of being hit by motor vehicles.<\/p>\n

\nThe data indicates that, across Ontario, the total number of paediatric emergency department visits due to pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions decreased by 18 per cent, from 1,562 visits in 2008, to 1,281 visits in 2015. While rates of pedestrian-motor vehicle collision-related emergency department visits decreased by 22 per cent in high-income neighbourhoods, the rates of visits in low-income neighbourhoods increased by 14 per cent. Overall, children in the highest income level areas had a 48 per cent lower rate of visits than children in the lowest income level areas.<\/p>\n

\n“Simply put, poorer children are at an increased risk of getting hit by cars. Child pedestrian injury is a public health and health equity issue,” says the study’s lead author, Dr. Linda Rothman, senior research associate in Child Health Evaluative Sciences at SickKids. “Although progress has been made in reducing preventable pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions, more work remains to be done. Our streets should be safe for all children to walk to school, to the playground or to the park.”<\/p>\n

\nThe study also revealed the following statistics:<\/p>\n