Leeberk Raja Inbaraj1, Anuradha Rose2, Kuryan George2, Anuratha Bose2. 1. Department of Community Health, Bangalore Baptist Hospital, Bangalore, Karnataka, 560024, India. leeberk2003@gmail.com. 2. Department of Community Health, Christian Medical College, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the incidence of unintentional childhood injuries and to assess the impact of injury during childhood. METHODS: This is a cross sectional study, conducted in 13 clusters of a rural block in Vellore. Children were screened by two-stage cluster sampling method by two weeks and three months recall method. The primary caregivers of injured children were administered a questionnaire to assess the impact of the injury. RESULTS: Childhood injury related morbidity was 292.5 per 1000 y. Children between 10 and 14 y (4.6%) and boys (4.5%) had a higher rate of injury. Fall (43.1 %) was the most common cause of injury followed by RTIs (Road Traffic Incidents- 27.6%). Work absenteeism for primary caregivers ranged from 1 to 60 (IQR 2-7) days. Sickness absenteeism ranged from 1 to 45 d with a mean of 7.64 (IQR 2-7) days. Half of the children missed school after an injury. The days spent with temporary disability ranged from 1 to 60 d with a mean of 11.79 (IQR 2-7) d and 7.73% had permanent disability. CONCLUSIONS: Unintentional childhood injury is a neglected public health problem which leads to sickness absenteeism and disability. Boys and older children are the most common victims of injury. There is a need for establishing state or nationwide injury registries to help understand accurate estimates of disability-adjusted life year (DALY) and loss of productivity.
OBJECTIVE: To estimate the incidence of unintentional childhood injuries and to assess the impact of injury during childhood. METHODS: This is a cross sectional study, conducted in 13 clusters of a rural block in Vellore. Children were screened by two-stage cluster sampling method by two weeks and three months recall method. The primary caregivers of injured children were administered a questionnaire to assess the impact of the injury. RESULTS: Childhood injury related morbidity was 292.5 per 1000 y. Children between 10 and 14 y (4.6%) and boys (4.5%) had a higher rate of injury. Fall (43.1 %) was the most common cause of injury followed by RTIs (Road Traffic Incidents- 27.6%). Work absenteeism for primary caregivers ranged from 1 to 60 (IQR 2-7) days. Sickness absenteeism ranged from 1 to 45 d with a mean of 7.64 (IQR 2-7) days. Half of the children missed school after an injury. The days spent with temporary disability ranged from 1 to 60 d with a mean of 11.79 (IQR 2-7) d and 7.73% had permanent disability. CONCLUSIONS: Unintentional childhood injury is a neglected public health problem which leads to sickness absenteeism and disability. Boys and older children are the most common victims of injury. There is a need for establishing state or nationwide injury registries to help understand accurate estimates of disability-adjusted life year (DALY) and loss of productivity.
Authors: Diego G Bassani; Rajesh Kumar; Shally Awasthi; Shaun K Morris; Vinod K Paul; Anita Shet; Usha Ram; Michelle F Gaffey; Robert E Black; Prabhat Jha Journal: Lancet Date: 2010-11-12 Impact factor: 79.321
Authors: George C Patton; Carolyn Coffey; Susan M Sawyer; Russell M Viner; Dagmar M Haller; Krishna Bose; Theo Vos; Jane Ferguson; Colin D Mathers Journal: Lancet Date: 2009-09-12 Impact factor: 79.321
Authors: S R Mashreky; A Rahman; S M Chowdhury; S Giashuddin; L SvanstrOm; M Linnan; S Shafinaz; I J Uhaa; F Rahman Journal: Burns Date: 2008-02-01 Impact factor: 2.744