In the News...
While Caution is Warranted, Child Passengers Are Safer When Teen Driver Is Their Sibling Study has implications for "family exemption" to graduated driver licensing laws
PHILADELPHIA, June 13 -¯ A study released this month from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) and State Farm ® found that while children driven by teens are twice as likely to suffer crash injury as those driven by adults, their risk is 40 percent lower if the teenaged driver is their older brother or sister.
The research, published this week in the journal Injury Prevention, may offer insights for parents, as well as for state lawmakers involved in setting standards for graduated driver licensing (GDL) laws for young drivers. Previous findings from the ongoing research alliance between CHOP and State Farm have proven that young children riding with newly licensed teenagers are at a much higher risk for injury in a crash than they are with adult drivers. This and other studies have led lawmakers in many states to impose restrictions on the number of passengers young drivers are allowed to carry without adult supervision. However, many states allow exceptions for family members.
Until now, the injury risk to sibling versus non-sibling passengers has not been explored.
"Our goal was to determine whether allowing an exception for teenaged drivers to carry family members as passengers makes sense from an injury prevention standpoint, and not just as a matter of convenience," explains Flaura Winston, M.D., Ph.D., Scientific Director of the Center for Injury Research and Prevention at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "We found that children are safer and more likely to be restrained when riding with a teenaged sibling than with a non-related teenager, but they're safest when they're riding with a driver older than 25."
The study, conducted as part of the Partners for Child Passenger Safety project, included accident and injury data on 16,233 children below age 16, who were riding with 15 -19 year-old drivers in 16 states and Washington, D.C. These crashes were reported to State Farm from December 2000 through December 2005.
"Busy parents have come to rely on their older children helping with shuttling siblings to various commitments," says Dr. Winston. "By allowing family member exceptions, passenger restrictions may be readily accepted by both parents and policymakers." Researchers say this may be an important first step for states which currently have no passenger restrictions for young drivers.
Rather than restrict sibling passengers, Dr. Winston recommends GDL programs provide appropriate education and disincentives, such as postponement of full-driving privileges if all child passengers are not properly restrained.
The researchers also caution parents to make sure there is a specific
destination involved with the trip. Crash risk increases dramatically
among teen drivers when there is no predetermined destination. Dr.Winston
offers this advice to parents who are deciding whether to allow their
teens to drive younger brothers and sisters: "Parents should pay
attention to their children's risk-taking tendencies before allowing them
to ride together without an adult. In some cases, siblings
can have a negative influence on one another's risk-taking behaviors that
can be stronger than parental or peer influence."
For the latest research and information for parents about teen driving,
visit www.chop.edu/youngdrivers <http://www.chop.edu/youngdrivers <http://www.chop.edu/youngdrivers>
> . For
more information about child passenger safety, visit www.chop.edu/carseat
<http://www.chop.edu/carseat> <http://www.chop.edu/carseat <http://www.chop.edu/carseat>
>
NATION'S PEDIATRICANS URGE ELIMINATION OF SMOKING FROM MOVIES WITH LESS THAN R RATING CHICAGO -- Each day, nearly 4,000 children and adolescents smoke their first cigarette. One thousand of them become addicted smokers, facing a lifetime of medical conditions from which more than 400,000 die each year. A significant body of research indicates that exposure to movie imagery of tobacco smoking by attractive movie stars is among the strongest factors that leads nonsmoking adolescents to try this highly addictive behavior. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is concerned that the Motion Picture Association of America's (MPAA) recent statement that it will 'consider smoking as a factor' in ratings will not effectively prevent children from being exposed to on-screen smoking," Because of the potent effect of motion pictures in persuading children and teens to smoke, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), along with the other leading organizations of health professionals in the United States, 32 state Attorneys General, and the Harvard School of Public Health calls on the MPAA and movie studios to act immediately to eliminate depiction of tobacco smoking from films accessible to children and youth.
The AAP recommends the following four steps to help reduce smoking initiation among children and youth:Require an R rating for all new films portraying smoking (unless they show smoking by a real historical figure who actually smoked).Convey an effective antismoking message before all films portraying smokingCertify that no payments were made for tobacco product placements in the filmEliminate brand identifications. "The AAP is pleased there is increasing recognition of the need to protect children and teens from becoming addicted to the largest avoidable cause of death in the United States," said AAP President Jay E. Berkelhamer, MD, AAP.The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 60,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well being of infants, children, adolescents and young children.
American Academy of Pediatrics Crisis Experts and Resources Available
The American Academy of Pediatrics has resources for parents, teachers,
students, physicians, children and teens to help cope with the recent
campus shooting tragedy at Virginia Tech on http://www.aap.org/
It includes tips on talking to children after a disaster, stress management
guidelines for children and teens, and gun violence prevention. Pediatricians
who are mental health and violence prevention experts
are also available to discuss the emotional impact of school and community
violence. For more information or to set up an interview, please contact
Mindy
Weinstein at 847-434-7131, mweinstein@aap.org
or Debbie Linchesky at
847-434-7084, dlinchesky@aap.org.
"MMWR: Infant deaths from cough and cold medicines." http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5601a1.htm
Medicaid Denial: We are asking AAP chapter members to send us information related to children being denied Medicaid coverage because of the DRA documentation requirement. This information is being collected by the Academy for use in advocacy efforts. Please send to Sherry Iverson or David Christensen.
As you know, the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) required Medicaid enrollees to provide documentation of identity and citizenship, as of July 1, 2006, and data is being gathered to advocate for more reasonable rules.
Healthy
and Safety E-News AAP Early Education and Child Care Initiatives
program to offer child care providers information on evidence-based practices
that promote the health and safety of children
in child care. http://www.healthychildcare.org/caregiverenews.cfm
Featured as one of the 2005 Healthy Tommorow Projects:
Treasure Valley Children's Mental Health Project
Warm
Spring Counseling Center, Boise, ID
Project Director: Scott Armentrout, PhD sarmentrout@childrenshomesociety.com
Contact Person: Kara Craig, kcraig@childrenshomesociety.com
The Treasure Valley Children's Mental Health Project (TVCMPHP) will increase access to mental health services for high risk, low-income children by enhancing the capacity of primary care physicians to serve these children. TVCMHP will train primary care physicians in best practice, research-based protocols and evaluation/assessment tools regarding mental health issues. A clinical psychologist/case manager will coordinate contact between participating physicians and the consulting psychiatrist(s), with bi-lingual evaluation available in Spanish. Monthly training sessions will offer continuting education credits for physicians in children's mental health issues and will include bi-monthly updates on new psychotropic medications.
New Resource in Children’s Mental Health
Local children’s mental health councils provide help to families affected by serious emotional disturbance (SED) in their communities. Councils pull together services and natural support while reducing the negative impact of SED on families. Parents and representatives from the Department of Health and Welfare, Juvenile Corrections, Education, and other private organizations are council members.
Physicians, agency representatives, and community members can refer families to councils. Once contact is made, a local council service coordinator meets with the family to explain the council process and answer questions. If the family chooses to work with their council, a support team is created to develop a holistic treatment plan that is focused on the needs of the child and is based on the strengths of the family. For example, treatment plans may include clinical and recreational therapy.
If you are interested in referring a family to a council, call the Idaho Careline at 1-800-926-2588 or 211.
Are you telling your patients about the NEW Meningococcal Vaccine?
To order posters for Idaho Sound Begining - Newborn Hearing Screening call Idaho Sound Beginnings at 208-334-0829, 800-433-1323, 208-..4-0803 (TTY) or, the Idaho CareLine at 211. Screening is available for ALL Idaho Babies.