Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate racial differences in health status and sociodemographic characteristics for injured black and white infants. Data were analyzed from the 1988 Maternal and Infant Health Surveys conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. Injured infants (N=315) were randomly matched with uninjured infants. The injured infants from both racial groups were more often male and had younger mothers than the uninjured infants. Injured white infants also were more likely to be on public assistance as compared to noninjured white infants. The presence of colic and irritability during the first month of life was significant for both black and white injured groups. Logistic regression analysis showed that irritability was predictive of injury occurrence in both groups. Nursing implications include early case finding, injury prevention education, public policy advocacy, and injury research. Although all families with infants should be targeted for injury prevention education, a special emphasis should be placed on families with infants that have a predictably higher probability of being injured, as discussed in this study.
