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B Ytterstad

Publications and source records attributed to B Ytterstad.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

The epidemiology of injuries in Svalbard compared with Harstad.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To survey all injuries treated in Longyearbyen hospital, Svalbard and to describe the injury epidemiology for Svalbard (residents and visitors), comparing it with Harstad. SETTING: The Norwegian arctic archipelago, Svalbard and the mainland city Harstad during three years from 8 March 1997. PARTICIPANTS: The person years of the study were 4211 for Svalbard residents and 69,014 for Harstad. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The variables followed the Nordic system. Of 630 recorded injuries, 107 were snowmobile related. Crude injury rates (per 1000 person years) [corrected] for Svalbard residents were for men 100.9 and for women 76.3. Corresponding rates were not significantly higher for men in Harstad (115.4, p = 0.19) and for women (80.1, p = 0.56). Home injuries were more prevalent in Harstad (30.5%) compared to Svalbard residents (13.1%, p < 0.001) and visitors (8.9%, p < 0.001). Work and leisure related injuries were more prevalent for Svalbard visitors (38.8% and 48.7%) and residents (27.2% and 41.9%) compared to Harstad (13.2% and 34.8%) (both p < 0.001). 43.5% of Svalbard visitors sustained work related injuries at sea. These injuries had higher AIS (abbreviated injury scale) mean score (1.83) than visitors' work injuries occurring on land (1.41) (p < 0.05) and residents' work injuries (1.29) (p < 0.001). Harstad had lowest AIS score for work related injuries (1.24). The violence rate (per 1000 person years) was 0.9 for Svalbard residents, less than a third of the Harstad rate (p < 0.02). There was one Svalbard resident fatality (drowning).

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Snowmobile injuries in Svalbard--a three year study [corrected].

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To survey snowmobile injury events treated in Longyearbyen hospital, Svalbard and to report the injury distribution and characteristics for Svalbard residents and visitors driving snowmobiles. DESIGN: Prospective injury recording. SETTING: The Norwegian arctic archipelago, Svalbard during three years from 8 March 1997. PARTICIPANTS: The person years of the study, estimated from yearly census data on Svalbard residents, were 4211. In 1998 the number of registered snowmobiles were 1342, of which about 250 were available for use to visitors. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The variables were selected and coded according to the Nordic system. Of 107 snowmobile injuries recorded, 85 occurred during March-May (79.4%). Nine out of ten injuries occurred during leisure driving. Visitors (N=51) had peak injury frequency in the age group 30-39 and an injury rate of 68.0 per 1000 registered vehicles per year. Residents had a corresponding peak in the 20-29 age group and injury rate four times lower. The upper (23.4%) and lower (22.5%) extremities were the most commonly injured. 32 injuries were non-minor. Of these, 7 had multiple injuries. The most seriously injured had ruptured abdominal organs (spleen, kidney) or fractures of long bones. There were no fatalities. CONCLUSION: The snowmobile injury rate per 1000 registered vehicles in Svalbard is three times higher for residents (17.4) than in Swedish Lappland. The injury rate for Svalbard visitors is four times higher than the resident rate. Eight out of ten snowmobile injuries occurred during March-May. Continuous prospective hospital recording of snowmobile injuries continues in Svalbard and will enable evaluation of preventive measures targeted as a result of the present study.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

The Harstad injury prevention study: the characteristics and distribution of fractures amongst elders--an eight year study.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To do a complete survey of hospital-treated fractures in the aged (65+ years old) and to report the characteristics and distribution of all fractures occurring within this defined population. DESIGN: Prospective injury recording study. SETTING: The Norwegian municipality of Harstad (population 23,000) during eight years from 1 July 1985. PARTICIPANTS: The person years of the study estimated from yearly census data, were 22,970. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The variables were selected and coded according to the Nordic system and the data were collected as part of a national injury surveillance system. Of 753 recorded fractures, nine out of ten were caused by falls. 50.6% of fractures occurred in private homes, 24.4% in traffic areas (traffic accidents excluded), 13.3% in nursing homes. Adjusting for exposure, fracture rates (per 1000 person years) were 70.0 in nursing homes, 17.7 in private homes, and 8.5 in traffic areas in winter (traffic accidents excluded). The fracture risk in traffic areas increased fivefold in months with snow. CONCLUSION: Nine out of ten fractures in the aged were caused by falls. Although the fracture risk for the elderly living in a nursing home was four times as high as those living in private homes, the volume of fractures occurring in private homes and traffic areas make them a prime target for interventions. Continuous prospective hospital recording of fractures in a community of aged is feasible and provides a tool for targeting interventions and evaluating the outcome of a community fall-fracture prevention programme.

Accident Prevention↗
PubMed1998

Harstad injury prevention study: prevention of burns in young children by community based intervention.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the long term effectiveness of a community based program targeting prevention of burns in young children. DESIGN: Quasiexperimental. SETTING: The Norwegian city of Harstad (main intervention), six surrounding municipalities (intervention diffusion), and Trondheim (reference). PARTICIPANTS: Children under age 5 years in the three study populations. METHODS: Outpatient and inpatient hospital data were coded according to the Nordic system, and collected as part of a national injury surveillance system. Burn data collection started in May 1985. The first 19.5 months of the study provided baseline data, while the last 10 years involved community based intervention, using a mix of passive and active interventions. RESULTS: The mean burn injury rate decreased by 51.5% after the implementation of the intervention in Harstad (p < 0.05) and by 40.1% in the six municipalities (not significant). Rates in the reference city, Trondheim, increased 18.1% (not significant). In Harstad and the six surrounding municipalities there was a considerable reduction in hospital admissions, operations, and bed days. Interventions with passive strategies were more effective, stove and tap water burns being eliminated in the last four years, while active strategies were less effective. CONCLUSIONS: A program targeting burns in children can be effective and sustainable. Local injury data provided the stimulus for community action.

Burns↗
PubMed1996

The Harstad injury prevention study: the epidemiology of sports injuries. An 8 year study.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiology of sports injuries occurring in a community during 8 years and to evaluate the outcome of an intervention implemented against injuries occurring in downhill skiing. METHODS: Hospital treated sports injuries occurring in Harstad, Norway (population 22 600) were recorded prospectively during an 8 year period. A prevention programme targeting downhill skiing injuries was evaluated. RESULTS: 2234 sports injuries accounted for 17.2% of recorded unintentional injuries. Two out of three injuries occurred in team sports. Soccer accounted for 44.8% of all sports injuries. Downhill skiing injuries had higher mean score on the abbreviated injury scale than all other sports analysed combined (P < 0.01). Postintervention injury rates for downhill skiing were reduced by 15% when adjusting for exposure (P = 0.24). Further observations are needed for assessing the effectiveness of the downhill skiing safety programme. CONCLUSIONS: Strategies for future sports injury prevention include community involvement, particularly sports organisations. Local data analysis seems to justify some priorities, for example, promotion of helmet use in downhill skiing for young adolescents and prevention of lower limb fractures in male soccer players 15+ years old. Prospective hospital recording of injuries provides a tool for the design and outcome evaluation of sports injury intervention research.

Abbreviated Injury Scale↗
PubMed1996

The Harstad injury prevention study: community based prevention of fall-fractures in the elderly evaluated by means of a hospital based injury recording system in Norway.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To describe a community based programme to prevent fractures resulting from falls and evaluate the outcome in terms of changes in fracture rates and short term hospital care costs. DESIGN: Prospective intervention study. SETTING: The Norwegian municipalities of Harstad (intervention) and Trondheim (reference) from 1 July 1985 to 30 June 1993. PARTICIPANTS: The person-years of the study were estimated from yearly census data on people aged 65 years and over. There were 22970 person years in Harstad and 158911 in Trondheim. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The variables were selected and coded according to the Nordic system and the data were collected as part of a national injury surveillance system. The first three years of the study provided baseline data, while the last five years involved community based interventions-eg, the removal of environmental hazards in homes and promotion of the use of safe footwear outdoors in winter. Rates of fracture from falls did not decline in nursing homes but decreased 26.3% in private homes (p < 0.01). In 65-79 year olds, there was a 48.7% reduction in fall-fracture rates for men in traffic areas in winter (p < 0.05). The data from the reference city, Trondheim, suggested a significant rise in fractures caused by falls. There was a 16.7% reduction in hospital admission rates of fall-fracture patients from private homes, indicating a substantial saving in short term hospital costs. The observed fall-fracture rate reductions in private homes and traffic areas suggest that major parts of the interventions were effective. CONCLUSION: Fall-fracture prophylaxis in the aged is possible in a community based setting that utilises high quality, local injury data.

Accidental Falls↗
PubMed1995

The Harstad Injury Prevention Study: evaluation of hospital-based injury recording and community-based intervention for traffic injury prevention.

In a quasi-experimental study, hospital-treated traffic accident injuries were recorded prospectively for 7 1/2 years in the two Norwegian cities, Harstad and Trondheim. In Harstad the recorded data were used actively in analysis, planning, and implementation of a community-based injury prevention program. Trondheim was the nonequivalent control city. The intervention was divided into three periods, each of 30 months duration. Preventive efforts were implemented to some extent in period 1, increasingly in period 2 and period 3. Traffic safety was promoted in an extensive community program based on the Ottawa charter for health promotion. A 26.6% overall reduction of traffic injury rates was found in Harstad from period 1 to period 3 (p < 0.01), whereas a corresponding significant increase was found in the comparison city. Analysis of data from other sources were not conclusive in supporting the Trondheim data as showing the national trend. Alternative explanations for the injury rate reduction in Harstad were assessed by means of other available relevant data. The exact mechanisms that brought about the reduction of injury rates were hard to elucidate because so many intervention elements were implemented at the same time. It is concluded that at least some of the reduction was due to behavioural and structural changes brought about by health promotion. Important factors for the effect of and participation in the prevention program were local relevance and continuous feedback of accident injury data.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1995

The Harstad Injury Prevention Study: prevention of burns in small children by a community-based intervention.

Burns are known to cause considerable morbidity and mortality, and scalding is the most common type of burn injury in small children. A community-based injury prevention programme was initiated in the Norwegian city of Harstad (22,000 inhabitants) in 1987 and evaluated by means of data from a hospital-based injury recording system. One part of the programme aimed at reducing burns in children below 5 years of age. Accident analyses based on the local database revealed coffee to be the most frequent liquid causing scalds, which mostly occurred in the kitchen. Sixty-six per cent of the injured were boys and two-thirds were below 2 years of age. The prevention study was divided in a baseline period (19.5 months) with no local intervention-and a succeeding 7-year period containing a wide range of active and passive prevention strategies. From the first to the second period the mean burn injury rate decreased 52.9 per cent, from 52.4 to 24.7 per 10,000 person years (P < 0.05). In a reference city located 1,000 km away, the rates increased from 61.9 to 68.0 per 10,000 person years (NS). The burn injury rate reduction was considered mainly attributable to the strengthening of public participation and the enhancement of community empowerment achieved by recording and actively using the local burn injury data.

Burns↗
PubMed1995

The Harstad injury prevention study: hospital-based injury recording used for outcome evaluation of community-based prevention of bicyclist and pedestrian injury.

OBJECTIVE: To test the feasibility of a hospital-based injury recording for accident analysis and outcome evaluation of bicyclist and pedestrian injury prevention. DESIGN: Prospective injury recording lasting 7 1/2 years, using a quasi-experimental design. SETTING: The population of Harstad (22,000). INTERVENTION: Injury data were evaluated in an injury prevention group and used in planning a community-based intervention. Promotion of bicyclist helmet use and pedestrian safe behaviour was implemented by activating public and voluntary organizations and media. A traffic safety pamphlet containing local traffic injury data was distributed. Changes were made in the physical traffic environment. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Injury rates for bicyclists and pedestrians. RESULTS: In 275 bicyclists upper extremity and head injuries were predominant 70% were below 16 years. In 137 pedestrians lower extremity injury was most frequent and children below 10 years had the highest injury rates. Significant injury rate reductions were observed after intervention for child bicyclists and pedestrians. CONCLUSION: A hospital-based injury recording is feasible for bicyclists and pedestrian accident analysis, planning injury prevention, and outcome evaluation of the programme. This study indicates that a significant injury rate reduction in children may have been the result of the intervention.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1990

[Bicycle injuries. Hospital based registration of injuries during 1985-89].

We analyze the results of 4 1/2 years of prospective registration of accidents to cyclists. 252 injured were treated at our hospital some as in-patients, some as out-patients. About 30% of all traffic injuries relate to cyclists. The true amount of these injuries is more than ten times the figure in the Norwegian official statistics. Most injuries occur in childhood and early adolescence, because these groups cycle most. Head injuries, wounds and fractures dominate. Two out of three of the injured are males. Accidents involving motor vehicles are more serious than other types of accidents and constitute about 17% of all injuries to cyclists. A lot of helmets have been sold, but no reduction in head injuries has been observed. The classical spoke injuries continue.

Accidents, Traffic↗