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Objective-To describe the long term eVectiveness 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 diVusion), 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 eVective, stove and tap water burns being eliminated in the last four years, while active strategies were less eVective. Conclusions-A program targeting burns in children can be eVective and sustainable. Local injury data provided the stimulus for community action. (Injury Prevention 1998;4:176-180)

SummaryIn this open population-based study from Northern Norway, there was no increase in hip fracture incidence in women and men from 1994 to 2008. Age-adjusted hip fracture rates was lower compared to reported rates from the Norwegian capital Oslo, indicating regional differences within the country.IntroductionThe aim of the present population-based study was to describe age- and sex-specific incidence of hip fractures in a Northern Norwegian city, compare rates with the Norwegian capital Oslo, describe time trends in hip fracture incidence, place of injury, seasonal variation and compare mortality after hip fracture between women and men.MethodsData on hip fractures from 1994 to 2008 in women and men aged 50 years and above were obtained from the Harstad Injury Registry.ResultsThere were altogether 603 hip fractures in Harstad between 1994 and 2008. The annual incidenc rose exponentially from 5.8 to 349.2 per 10,000 in men, and from 8.7 to 582.2 per 10,000 in women from the age group 50–54 to 90+ years. The age-adjusted incidence rates were 101.0 and 37.4 in women and men, respectively, compared to 118.0 in women (p = 0.005) and 44.0 in men (p = 0.09) in Oslo. The age-adjusted incidence rates did not increase between 1994–1996 and 2006–2008. The majority of hip fractures occurred indoors and seasonal variation was significant in fractures occurring outdoors only. After adjusting for age at hip fracture, mortality after fracture was higher in men than in women 3, 6 and 12 months (p ≤ 0.002) after fracture.ConclusionsThere are regional differences in hip fracture incidence that cannot be explained by a north–south gradient in Norway. Preventive strategies must be targeted to indoor areas throughout the year and to outdoor areas in winter.

Background and purpose The Norwegian Cruciate Ligament Register (NCLR) was founded in 2004. The purpose of the NCLR is to provide representative and reliable data for future research. In this study we evaluated the development of the registration rate in the NCLR.Methods The Norwegian Patient Register (NPR) and the electronic patient charts (EPCs) were used as reference data for public and private hospitals, respectively. Data were retrieved for all primary and revision anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) surgery during 2008–2009 in public hospitals and during 2008 in private hospitals. The NOMESCO classification of surgical procedures was used for identification of ACL surgeries. Public hospitals were divided into subgroups according to the annual number of operations in the NPR: small hospitals (< 30 operations) and large hospitals (≥ 30 operations).Results For the 2-year data extracted from public hospitals, 2,781 and 2,393 operations met the inclusion criteria according to the NPR and the NCLR, respectively, giving an average registration rate of 86% (95% CI: 0.85–0.87). The registration rate for small public hospitals was 69% (CI: 0.65–0.73), which was significantly less than for large public hospitals (89%, CI: 0.88–0.90; p < 0.001). In 2008, private hospitals reported 548 operations to the NCLR while 637 were found in the EPCs, giving a registration rate of 86% (CI: 0.83–0.89). In that year, the registration rate for public hospitals was 86%, which was similar to that for private hospitals.Interpretation The NCLR registration rate for the period 2008–09 was similar in both 2008 and 2009, and is satisfactory for research. There is room for improvement of registration rates, particularly in hospitals with a small volume of ACL operations.