Injuries caused by firearms differ in rural or urban settings
The study abstract, "Hospitalizations for Firearm Injuries in Children and Adolescents in the US: Rural Versus Urban," will be presented Monday, Sept. 18, at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition in Chicago. For the study, researchers analyzed the Kids' Inpatient Database to identify hospitalizations for injuries due to firearms in patients under age 20. A total of 21,843 hospitalizations from 2006, 2009, and 2012 were compared based on demographics, rural versus urban location, and the cause of the injury (assault, suicide attempt, accidental, or undetermined). Researchers found that most of the pediatric firearm injuries resulting in hospitalization occurred among older teens (ages 15 to 19) and that those living in urban areas had the highest rate of hospitalization. However, among younger children (ages 5 to 14) the rate of hospitalization was higher in rural areas. Accidental firearm injuries were the most common cause of hospi...