Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Rates of Traumatic Injury in Arizona, 2011-2012

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the rates of traumatic injury among five racial/ethnic groups in Arizona and to identify which mechanisms and intents of traumatic injury were predominant in each group. Methods: We obtained 2011 and 2012 data on traumatic injury from Arizona’s trauma registry and data on mortality from Arizona's death registry. We calculated location- and age-adjusted rates (aRs) of traumatic injury and rates of mortality per 100,000 Arizona residents and rate ratios (RRs) for each racial/ethnic group. We also calculated race/ethnicity specific aRs and RRs by mechanism of injury, intent of injury, and alcohol use. Results: We analyzed data on 58,034 cases of traumatic injury. After adjusting for age and location, American Indians/Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) had the highest overall rate of traumatic injury ( n = 6,287; aR = 729) and Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders had the lowest overall rate of traumatic injury ( n = 553; aR = 141). By intent, AI/ANs had the highest rate of homicide/assault-related traumatic injury ( n = 2,170; aR = 221) and by mechanism, non-Hispanic black/African American people had the highest rate of firearm-related traumatic injury ( n = 265; aR = 40). In 2011-2012, 8,868 deaths in Arizona were related to traumatic injury. AI/ANs had the highest adjusted mortality rate ( n = 716; aR = 95). Conclusion: Racial/ethnic disparities in traumatic injuries persisted after adjusting for age and injury location. Understanding how these disparities differ by mechanism, intent, and alcohol use may lead to the development of more effective initiatives to prevent traumatic injury.