CPSC Presentation on Consumer Product Safety Hazards to Seniors from 2015 Healthy Aging Summit in Washington DC

1. U.S. Consumer Product Safety
Commission (CPSC)
This presentation was prepared by CPSC staff, has not been reviewed or approved
by, and may not reflect the views of, the Commission.
Hazards to Seniors
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2. U.S. Consumer Product
Safety Commission
• An independent federal agency
• Established in May 1973
• Responsible for consumer product safety
functions of the federal government
• Five Commissioners, appointed by the
President, and confirmed by the Senate
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3. Mission
Protecting the public against unreasonable
risks of injury from consumer products
through education, safety standards
activities, regulation, and enforcement.
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4. Surveillance Databases
Injury and
potential
injury
incident
data*
Death
certificates
In-Depth
Investigations
National
Electronic
Injury
Surveillance
System
IPII DTHS INDP NEISS
*Hotline, online consumer reports, newspapers,
news on Internet 4

5. IPII
IPII Data Sources
Medical
Examiner
and
Coroner
Alert
Program
(MECAP)
News
Clips
Hotline
Calls
Internet
Reports
Compliance
Reports
Federal
and State
Agency
Referrals
Other
Reports
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6. • Contracts with 50 states
• Purchases approximately 8,000 per year
• Time lag
• Daily review
• Analytical use
DTHS
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7. • Field Investigations
– On site
– Local-level collaboration
• Medical examiner
• Police
• Fire
– Sample collection opportunity
• Telephone Interviews
INDP
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8. • National sample
– 100 hospitals
• At least six beds and 24/7 emergency service
• Multilevel system
–  395k consumer product-related injury reports
annually
–  300k other incident reports annually
• Data submitted daily by hospital coders
• Data available from 1980 to present
NEISS
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9. Hazard Analysis
• Characterize product-associated
hazards using death, injury, and non-
injury statistics
- National estimates by product or
hazard type
- Frequency counts by product or
hazard type
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10. Hazard Analysis
• Identify incident hazard patterns
• Screen incoming incident data for
- Trends
- Emerging hazards
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11. Senior Hazards Sketch
• 2013 Analysis of estimated senior
injuries/fatalities across all products
under CPSC jurisdiction.
• Identified classes of products
1) Associated most frequently with
senior injuries seen in ERs (2011).
2) Sending seniors to ERs at a higher
rate on a per pop. basis
3) Associated with at least 10 senior
fatalities in 2009.
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12. Highlights
• An estimated 4.8 visits per 100 seniors in
2011 with consumer product-related
injuries.
• The rate for adults ages 25-64 was 3.2.
• Sixty-four percent of victims 65+ were 75
or older (only 46% of seniors are over 75).
• Fractures (23%) were the most common
diagnosis.
• Twenty-four percent of victims were
hospitalized versus 5% ages 25-64.
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13. Falls
• CDC estimated that 2.4 million of 3.8 million
unintentional senior injuries seen in ERs in 2011
and more than 20,000 of 39,000 unintentional
deaths were due to falls.
• A random sampling of consumer product-related
senior injuries seen in ERs in 2011 found 75% were
falls.
• Fall types included loss of balance (12%), slips
(11%), trips due to change in elevation (11%), trips
over an obstacle (10%), missteps (5%) with the
majority being “other” (29%) or unknown (23%)
• Non-fall fatality study due by 2016
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14. Products Most Frequently Associated
with ER Visits by Seniors
Product Group Est. ER Visits (2011)
1) Stairs, Ramps, Landings, Floors 785,600
2) Beds, Mattresses, Pillows 214,400
3) Chairs, Sofas, Sofa Beds 146,800
4) Bathroom Structures & Fixtures 128,200
5) Carpets and Rugs 64,200
6) Clothing 64,200
7) Tables, not elsewhere classified 60,100
8) Desks, Cabinets, Shelves, Racks 52,900
9) Non-glass Doors, Panels 44,300
10) Ladders, Stools 44,200
…
28) Hand Garden Tools 10,100 14

15. Products with <10K Senior ER Visits, but Higher
Rate of Senior Injury Than Age 25-64
Est. ER Visits per 100K Pop. (2011)
Product Group 25-64 65+ Ratio
1) Blankets 3.2 11.3 3.5
2) Elevators, Other Lifts 5.9 20.8 3.5
3) Cabinet/Door Hardware 3.6 9.7 2.7
4) Misc. Household Covers, Fabrics 8.4 19.2 2.3
5) Chimneys, Fireplaces 2.1 4.5 2.1
6) Misc. Household Appliances 11.5 22.2 1.9
7) Dollies, Carts 9.8 17.1 1.7
8) Radiators 1.8 3.0 1.7
9) Sound Recording/Reproducing Equip. 9.4 14.9 1.6
10) Electric Fixtures, Lamps, & Equip. 16.2 23.8 1.5
…
24) Paints, Solvents, Lubricants 6.6 6.9 1.05
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16. Products with <10K Senior ER Visits, Equal or
Lower ER Rates, but 10 or More Senior Fatalities
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Product Group Fatality Reports(2009)
1) Swimming Activity, Pools, Equipment 149
2) Home Fires/CO/Gas Vapors (Prod. Unknown) 104
3) Cigarettes, Lighters, Fuel 94
4) Furnaces 17
5) Outside Attached Structures & Materials 14
6) Fences 12
7) Water Heaters 11
8) Small Kitchen Appliances 10

17. Increasing 10-Year Trends Evident for 38
Product Groups
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531,300 552,800
607,400 600,700
640,500
663,400 683,100
730,200 752,600
785,6001495.6 1541.4
1677.8 1639.0
1723.4 1753.9 1761.5
1842.8 1859.4 1898.0
0.0
200.0
400.0
600.0
800.0
1000.0
1200.0
1400.0
1600.0
1800.0
2000.0
0
100,000
200,000
300,000
400,000
500,000
600,000
700,000
800,000
900,000
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Est. ED-Treated Consumer Product-Related Injuries &
Rate (NEISS) 2002-2011 Ages 65+
Injuries Rate per 100K Population
Example: Stairs, Ramps, Landings, Floors
Note: Medical visits for all purposes (not just those associated with
consumer products) by Medicare enrollees have been rising faster than
the number of seniors

18. Open Questions
• Will increasing trends in injuries continue?
• What can be done to prevent/mitigate these
injuries?
• In particular, what can be done to prevent/mitigate
fall injuries?
• What about non-falls?
• How might we consider exposure?
• How do we address/manage societal costs?
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19. CPSC Stands For Safety
The 2013 Senior Hazard Sketch can be found on cpsc.gov
at:
http://www.cpsc.gov//Global/Research-and-
Statistics/Injury-
Statistics/Older%20Adults/SeniorHazardsSketch2013.pdf
Other questions, contact Steve Hanway at
shanway.cpsc.gov
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