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1st
appeared 4 December 1998
San Franciscans with Lowest Incomes Suffer
Highest Rates of Injury
Injury claims the lives of 10 San Franciscans every week, with drug overdoses and other
poisonings causing one-third of these deaths and the city's poorest citizens suffering the
highest rates.
These statistics are found in "Profile of Injury," a report released Dec. 2 that
is an overview of injury deaths and hospitalization as major health problems in the City
and County of San Francisco. The newest edition presents 1996 data and is a joint project
of the San Francisco Department of Public Health (DPH), the UCSF Injury Center, and the
Trauma Foundation.
The report looks at death and hospitalization in eight major areas. After drug
overdose/poisonings, the leading causes of injury death in San Francisco are firearms,
falls, and motor vehicle accidents. The other categories in the survey are suffocation,
drowning, cut/piercing, and fire/burns.
"The good news is that San Francisco rates in 1996 are lower than in our previous
survey, but the bad news is that too many residents continue to die and to be hospitalized
as a result of injury or violence," said Elizabeth McLoughlin, a lead author of the
report and associate director of both the UCSF Injury Center and the Trauma Foundation.
The report also maps injury according to where people live and shows that injury rates are
highest in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods where residents have the lowest income
levels. "Injury does not represent equal opportunity across all zip codes,"
McLoughlin noted. According to report data, the 94102, 94103, and 94124 zip codes --
representing the Tenderloin, North of Market, South of Market, and Bayview/Hunter's Point
districts -- had the most residents die and require hospitalization because of injury.
Margaret Knudson, director of the UCSF Injury Center, treats many injury victims
first-hand as chief of pediatric trauma at San Francisco General Hospital Medical Center
(SFGHMC). "Children and adolescents are at particular risk of injury from motor
vehicles, firearms, and falls in these disadvantaged neighborhoods. Closing the gap on
this urban problem is a priority for all of us interested in the public's health,"
she said.
The report is compiled every two years, and this is the first time that San Francisco data
is compared with three other California cities: Oakland, San Jose, and Los Angeles. San
Francisco injury deaths and hospitalization rates were lower than Oakland but higher than
those of Los Angeles and San Jose.
Report findings include:
Injuries (unintentional, homicide, suicide) were the
fourth leading cause of death among San Franciscans following heart disease, cancer, and
AIDS.
There were twice as many suicides as homicides among
San Francisco residents.
Almost half of all injury hospitalizations were due
to falls. Among seniors over the age of 65, it was 75 percent.
More pedestrians than occupants of motor vehicles
have been killed in San Francisco in eight of the past ten years.
Hospital charges due to injury in 1996 in San
Francisco were more than $92 million. The highest hospital charges were for the care of
motorcyclists, bicyclists, pedestrians, and flame burn patients.
Maps of paramedic responses from 911 calls show that
pedestrians and bicyclists were at greatest risk around Market, Mission, and Van Ness; in
the Mission District; and in the Sunset District on 19th Avenue.
Mitch Katz, director of San Francisco DPH, said the report is a source of important
information on what and where specific problems exist. "Defining the problem is the
first step in finding a solution, so from here we can put the right groups together to
change current practice. This might include better drug treatment programs, community
programs during after-school hours with activities for youth and others, and tighter
controls on handguns and the availability of alcohol to young people."
The UCSF Injury Center is one of ten Injury Control Research
Centers funded by the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Its
mission is to expand knowledge in the areas of acute care for traumatized individuals and
to promote injury prevention strategies. The Trauma Foundation is a nonprofit organization
housed at SFGHMC whose mission is to prevent injury.
Copies of the 1998 "Profile of Injury in San Francisco" are available to all
interested persons at no charge from the Trauma Foundation at 415/821-8209. Additional
information about injury problems and solutions is available on the Foundation website at www.traumafdn.org .
Links:
Injury Center
Trauma Foundation
Source: Corinna Kaarlela, News Services
and Eileen Shields, DPH |
