Authors:
Gonzalez-Izquierdo A, Ward A, O'Donnell M, Li L, Roposch A, Stanley F, Gilbert R
Authors notes:
BMC Health Services Research. 2013;13(1):260
Keywords:
Victimisation, Children, Adolescents, Injuries, ICD-10 codes
Abstract:
A single, standardised measure of victimisation-related (VR) injury admission in hospital administrative datasets could allow monitoring of preventive and response strategies and international comparisons of policy.
Consistency of risk factors and incidence rates for a measure of victimisation-related injury in different countries with similar access to healthcare services would provide indirect evidence for measure validity.
The incidence of VR injury followed a similar 'J'-shaped association with age in both countries with increasing rates from 10years onwards and peaks in infancy and in 16-17year-olds.
In both countries, rates increased with deprivation. Girls had lower rates than boys except in the 11-15 age group where girls had higher rates than boys in WA but not in England.
Adjusted incidence rates were similar in both countries for children aged 3 to 15years old, but were higher in WA compared with England in children under 3years old and in those aged 16-17years.
Higher rates in WA in 16-17year-olds were explained by more admissions coded for the subcategories of adverse social circumstances, and to a lesser extent, assault, than in England.
Children less than 3years old were more often coded specifically for maltreatment in WA than in England.
The similarities in risk factors and in the adjusted rates of victimisation-related injury admission in both countries suggest that the VR cluster of ICD-10 codes is measuring a similar underlying problem.
Differential use of coding subcategories highlights the need to use the entire VR cluster for comparisons across settings.