Topics in minority health motor vehicle crashes and injuries in an Indian community - Arizona.

In 1985 and 1986, the Whiteriver Service Unit of the Indian Health Service (IHS) investigated motor vehicle crashes on the White Mountain Apache Reservation in eastern Arizona. To determine the incidence of injuries attributable to motor vehicle crashes and to identify risk factors amenable to prevention strategies, the investigators reviewed White Mountain Apache Tribal Police Department crash reports, Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) data, and emergency department records at the Whiteriver IHS Hospital. For the 2-year period, 571 motor vehicle crashes were identified. Serious injury or death occurred in 120 (21%) crashes, resulting in 128 hospitalizations and 24 fatalities. The total annual motor vehicle-related fatality rate was 129 deaths per 100,000 population; the rate was four times higher for males (206 per 100,000) than for females (53 per 100,000). Two priority injury events were identified that were readily amenable to prevention: 1) crashes involving pedestrians and 2) collisions with animals. This investigation provided baseline information used to develop local prevention measures. Intervention strategies developed in the community focused on motor vehicle-related injury events identified as priorities.