The findings of this latest ‘accident research’ are due to be revealed this afternoon [Wednesday 29 November] at the ‘Neighbourhoods and Accidents Conference’. This brings together a team of researchers from the University of Bristol and the University of East Anglia who will be meeting with local healthcare professionals and public health experts to get feedback on the results.
The researchers, who will be reporting on this major new study of accidents in young children in different neighbourhoods in and around the Bristol area, used information from the Children of the 90s study (also known as ALSPAC).
Together the university teams looked at reported accidents requiring medical attention in children under the age of five and were able to identify ten neighbourhood ‘accident hotspots’ around the city. Families living in the ten ‘accident hotspot’ areas reported 20 accidents needing medical attention per 100 children per year. This compared to a much-reduced rate of between six and eight accidents per 100 children per year in the ten neighbourhoods with the lowest rates.
Today’s conference at Bristol’s Create Centre will discuss why accident rates in children vary widely between different neighbourhoods and – most importantly – will investigate what can be done to prevent injuries in future. Clinicians and public health experts from across the city have been invited to give their views and advice.
Alan Emond, Professor of Community Child Health in the Centre for Child and Adolescent Health at the University of Bristol, said: ”This an excellent example of how academic research collected by Children of the 90s has been linked with information from other sources to produce accessible outputs which are both meaningful to local people and useful to prevent accidents in the future.”
Dr Richard Reading, from the University of East Anglia, added: “We don’t yet understand why there is such a wide variation between different neighbourhoods. Poverty, housing type and neighbourhood quality may have some part in the explanation but do not explain it all. We are looking into this in more detail, but are presenting these preliminary findings to get some local feedback about possible reasons.”
Today’s conference will also be followed by a week-long Poster Exhibition at the Create Centre where interested members of the public will be invited to feedback their ideas to the research team.