Background: Research suggests that living in more affluent neighbourhoods positively influences children's health. Relationships with injury are less clear. This study examines variations in rates of unintentional injury hospitalization by neighbourhood income for the population aged 0 to 19 in urban Canada.
Data and methods: Acute-care inpatient hospitalization discharge records from 2001/2002 through 2004/2005 for 0-to 19-year-olds were examined. Injuries were classified using the International Classification of Diseases. Census Dissemination Areas were used as neighbourhood proxies; income quintiles were calculated from the 2001 Census. Age-standardized rates of hospitalization per 10,000 person-years at risk were calculated for each type of injury, by sex, age group and neighbourhood income quintile.
Results: Children and teenagers in the lowest neighbourhood income quintile generally had a higher rate of unintentional injury hospitalization than did those in the highest. The pattern was particularly evident among children aged 0 to 9 in lower-income neighbourhoods for injuries due to land transportation, poisoning, fire, drowning/ suffocation, being cut or pierced, and the natural environment.
Interpretation: Canadian children in lower-income neighbourhoods generally have higher rates of hospitalization due to unintentional injuries, compared with children in higher-income neighbourhoods.