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Hispanic Ethnicity, Male Gender And Age Predict Restraint Use And Hospital Resource Utilization In Pediatric Trauma, Deborah A. Kuhls, Lynne Fullerton-Gleason, Virginia A. Landry, Julie A. Rabeau, Elizabeth Snavely, John J. Fildes

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Child restraint reduces the severity of injuries in motor vehicle crashes. Racial/ethnic groups appear to have differing restraint use rates. The objective of this study was to identify restraint use differences between ethnic and other demographic subgroups of pediatric trauma patients. Prospective data were analyzed for 1072 consecutive pediatric patients aged 19 or less who were involved in motor vehicle crashes and brought to our Trauma Center over a 42 month period. The demographic breakdown of this study cohort was 55.3% male, 21.4% Hispanic, 9.7% African American, 64.5% Caucasian, 2.2% Asian and 2.2% other. The highest rates of restraint use …