Off-Road Vehicle Trauma in Southern California: Association With the Social Vulnerability Index

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Trauma Surgery
• Environmental Health

Background:

• Off-road vehicles (ORVs) have higher injury rates than motorcycles due to design.
• California has a high incidence of ORV-related injuries and fatalities.
• ORV use in rural, socially vulnerable areas raises concerns about health disparities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the association between ORV injury rates and severity with the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) in Southern California.
• To identify if disadvantaged populations experience disproportionately higher ORV injury burdens.
• To inform targeted injury prevention strategies for ORV use.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective cohort study of 574 adult ORV trauma patients (2019-2024).
• Patients categorized into Low, Low-Medium, Medium-High, and High SVI groups based on ZIP codes.
• Injury severity assessed using Injury Severity Score (ISS), Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), and Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS).

Main Results:

• Most patients (54.3%) resided in High SVI ZIP codes.
• ORV injuries were most common in the extremities and thorax.
• No significant difference in injury severity (ISS, GCS, AIS) was found across SVI categories.

Conclusions:

• ORV-related injuries disproportionately affect residents of highly vulnerable communities in Southern California.
• Despite similar injury severity, a higher proportion of ORV trauma patients come from high SVI areas.
• Findings support the need for targeted injury prevention programs in socially vulnerable regions.