Overview

Abstract (English)

Objective: The purpose of this study was to compare the age and sex trends of motor vehicle collision injuries between a nationally representative self-report survey and official police motor vehicle collision report data. To do this, population-based estimates of motor vehicle collision injuries were established using data from the National Population Health Survey (NPHS), a prospective, population-based, longitudinal survey that was compared to Transport Canada’s official motor vehicle collision report statistics. Methods: Aggregated mean data (1994-1996) were compared for seven age groups (15-19, 20-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, and 65+) from both data sets. Results: No significant differences were found between males’ and females’ MVC injuries for any age category in the NPHS. A comparison of the NPHS and Transport Canada data found two small (significant) within-sex differences between the data sets, but overall, the analysis largely revealed similar trends for self-reported injury for all age categories and sex. Conclusions: The results indicate that the incidence of injuries based on self-report data in a nationally representative sample is similar to official sources of reporting and are thus a valid indicator or motor vehicle collision injury incidence. The results also confirm that injury trends differ from fatality trends.

Abstract (French)

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