Children’s Injury Risk Is Greater After Injury to a Sibling

Children are more likely to suffer unintentional injuries in the 180 days following a sibling’s injury, according to a study by researchers at the Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center published in the January 2003 issue of the Journal of Pediatrics. The researchers tracked 16,335 children below the age of 16 enrolled in Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound between 1995 and 1997. Of this group, 5,851 children sustained 8,973 injuries. Children whose siblings had sustained recent injuries had a 36 percent greater chance of needing medical care for an injury over the next six months.