Injury prevention behaviors: A report card for the nation, 1995

Introduction. This study estimated the 1995 state-level prevalence of occup ant restraint use for children and adults, child bicycle helmet use, not dr inking and driving, and installation and regular checking of smoke detector s. Methods. Data from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) w ere weighted to reflect the age, sex, and racial distribution of each state . State prevalence estimates were ranked by quartile. Results. Prevalence estimates for five of the six behaviors varied widely a cross states. Use of safety belts among adults ranged from 41.5 to 87.3% (m edian 66.7%); use of child occupant restraints, 62.3 to 95.7% (80.8%); not drinking and driving within the past 30 days, 94.7-99.4% (97.8%); smoke det ector installation, 78.9 to 98.7% (94.1%); monthly checking of smoke detect ors, 31.3-51.2% (40.4%); and child use of bicycle helmets, 9.3 to 62.8% (23 .1%). Certain states had consistently poor quartile rankings. States with b ehavior-relevant laws appeared to have the highest level of associated safe ty practices for impaired driving, adult occupant restraint use, and bicycl e helmet use. Conclusions. Injury risk taking behaviors appear to cluster. States with co nsistently poor quartile rankings should consider more concerted injury pre vention efforts. Health care providers can play an important role in increa sing the prevalence of injury prevention behaviors by providing age-appropr iate counseling to their patients.