Unintentional Home Injury Deaths By State

Between 1992 and 1999, New Mexico had the highest annual average rate of unintentional home injury deaths (13.03 per 100,000 persons), while Massachusetts had the lowest annual average rate (3.33 per 100,000 persons) (Figure 5.1 and Figure 5.2). Following New Mexico, Mississippi and Arizona had the second and third highest rates, exceeding the national average by 38 percent and 33 percent, respectively (Table 5.1). Following Massachusetts, Utah and Maryland had the lowest rates, with annual average rates of 42 percent and 36 percent lower than the national average, respectively.

In general, death rates are similar for the leading causes of death among states (Table 5.2). However, regional variations can be observed. For example, Southeastern states have high rates of death from residential fires, compared with other leading causes or compared to other states. This may be due to a variety of factors, including differences in the type of home heating, type of construction of the home, and the prevalence of manufactured housing. Rates of drowning deaths are highest in Florida, Arizona, Nevada and California where climates are warmer and swimming pools may be more common.

The reason states differ in their rates of death cannot be explained from the dataset used to obtain the number of deaths. However, factors that may contribute to the differences include:

• Access to health care, especially associated with rurality;
• Socio-demographics, particularly associated with poverty;
• Climate (e.g., related to home heating and its association with fires);
• Cultural differences in home safety practices;
• Reporting of location and causes of death on death certificates;
• Possible differences in alcohol use;
• Building materials in the construction of homes; and
• Tendency to have certain types of homes or features of homes by region (e.g., modular housing, multiple floors, windows without screens, swimming pools).