The effects of graduated driver licensing on hospitalization rates and charges for 16-and 17-year-olds in North Carolina.

Traffic Inj Prev

Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7445, USA.

Published: March 2007

Objective: To mitigate the high risk of motor vehicle crashes for young beginning drivers, over 40 states and the District of Columbia have implemented graduated driver licensing (GDL) systems that gradually and systematically ease teen drivers into higher risk driving conditions. Evaluations of GDL programs using motor vehicle crash data have demonstrated marked declines in crashes. The objective of this study is to examine the association between the implementation of the North Carolina GDL program and the rate of hospitalization, as well as hospital charges, for 16-and 17-year-old drivers.

Methods: Data were obtained from the North Carolina Hospital Discharge Database for the 26 months before and 46 months after the December 1, 1997, implementation of the GDL program. ARIMA interrupted time series analyses were used to model monthly hospitalization rates, controlling for the hospitalization rates of 25-to 54-year-old drivers. ARIMA analyses were also used to determine whether changes occurred in monthly total hospital charges.

Results: Among the 568 16-year-old hospitalized drivers, GDL was associated with a 36.5% decline in the hospitalization rate per population and a 31.2% decline in the total monthly driver hospitalization charges. Although a 12% reduction in the rate of hospitalizations was observed among the 615 17-year-old drivers, the analysis lacked sufficient power to be statistically reliable. No consistent change was observed in the 16-year-old driver total monthly hospital charges.

Conclusions: The North Carolina GDL program was associated with a marked decline in the rate of hospitalizations and hospital charges for 16-year-old drivers. Following the implementation of GDL, over $650,000 in hospital charges have been averted each year for 16-year-old drivers. Analyses suggest these reductions were primarily the result of reduced exposure rather than an improvement in teen driving.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15389580600863005DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

north carolina
16
hospitalization rates
12
gdl program
12
hospital charges
12
graduated driver
8
driver licensing
8
charges 16-and
8
motor vehicle
8
carolina gdl
8
implementation gdl
8

Similar Publications

Background: Professionals who provide implementation support in human service systems describe relationships as being critical to support evidence use; however, developing trusting relationships are not strongly featured in implementation science literature. The aims of this study were to (a) assess the feasibility and acceptability of a theory-driven training and coaching approach for building trusting relationships among members of an implementation team who were supporting the implementation of an evidence-informed program in a public child welfare system in the United States and (b) gauge the initial efficacy of the approach in terms of the development of trusting relationships and subsequent implementation outcomes.

Methods: Consistent with a convergent mixed-methods approach, we collected both quantitative and qualitative data to address our research questions.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

While attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is common among people with addiction, the risks and benefits of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder medication in pregnant people with opioid use disorder are poorly understood. Here, using US multistate administrative data, we examined 3,247 pregnant people initiating opioid use disorder treatment, of whom 5% received psychostimulants. Compared to peers not receiving psychostimulants, the psychostimulant cohort had greater buprenorphine (adjusted relative risk 1.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Childhood behavioral problems are common; despite evidence that parenting interventions improve outcomes, the use of these programs is limited. Virtual delivery may ameliorate attendance barriers, but little is known on the acceptability and feasibility of virtual group parenting interventions. This mixed-methods study explored the feasibility, acceptability, and appropriateness of the virtual delivery of a parenting intervention, Child Adult Relationship Enhancement in Primary Care (PriCARE) among 18 caregivers and 8 facilitators.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Preventative treatment of tuberous sclerosis complex with sirolimus: Phase I safety and efficacy results.

Ann Child Neurol Soc

June 2024

Division of Neurology, Department of Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH, USA.

Objective: Tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) results from overactivity of the mechanistic target of rapamycin (mTOR). Sirolimus and everolimus are mTOR inhibitors that treat most facets of TSC but are understudied in infants. We sought to understand the safety and potential efficacy of preventative sirolimus in infants with TSC.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Tef [ (Zucc.) Trotter] is the major staple crop for millions of people in Ethiopia and Eritrea and is believed to have been domesticated several thousand years ago. Tef has the smallest grains of all the cereals, which directly impacts its productivity and presents numerous challenges to its cultivation.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!