The 'hit by a stick' disease: an epidemiologic study of the causes of trauma in a non-profit hospital in rural Ethiopia.

Traumatic injuries are one of the leading causes of death and disability worldwide and represent a very important public health problem in countries like Ethiopia, where there are insufficient centres of trauma care and where an interest in prevention has only relatively recently been awakened. The aim of this study was to investigate the causes of trauma at St Luke Catholic Hospital. We conducted a one-year retrospective study on 2969 patients who suffered from trauma. Every traumatized patient was classified by age, sex, cause and site of the trauma. The admission rate and hospital stays were also analysed. The most common causes of injury were: interpersonal conflict (32.2%); falling (15.1%); and road traffic incidents (RTIs; 14%). Men (71.7%) and young adults (37.6%; range 15-29 years) were the most affected, while head and neck were the most affected sites (33%). Half of the 377 admitted patients stay in hospital for more than a week. The 'hit by a stick' disease can be reduced with appropriate public health campaigns on trauma prevention. This is a priority in trauma prevention, especially in the rural areas.