The epidemiology of injuries in adults in nepal: Findings from a hospital-based injury surveillance study

Bhatta, Santosh; Magnus, Dan; Mytton, Julie; Joshi, Elisha; Bhatta, Sumiksha; Adhikari, Dhruba; Manandhar, Sunil Raja; Joshi, Sunil Kumar

Abstract

This study aimed to develop and evaluate a model of hospital-based injury surveillance and describe the epidemiology of injuries in adults. One-year prospective surveillance was conducted in two hospitals in Hetauda, Nepal. Data were collected electronically for patients presenting to emergency departments (EDs) with injuries between April 2019 and March 2020. To evaluate the model's sustainability, clinical leaders, senior managers, data collectors, and study coordinators were interviewed. The total number of patients with injuries over one year was 10154, representing 30.7% of all patients visiting the EDs. Of patients with injuries, 7458 (73.4%) were adults 18 years and over. Most injuries (6434, 86%) were unintentional, with smaller proportions due to assault (616, 8.2%) and self-harm (408, 5.5%). The median age of adult patients was 33 years (IQR 25-47). Males had twice the rate of ED presentation compared with females (40.4 vs 20.9/1000). The most common causes were road traffic (32.8%), falls (25.4%), and animal/insect related (20.1%). Most injured patients were discharged after treatment (80%) with 9.1% admitted to hospital, 8.1% transferred to other hospitals and 2.1% died. In Nepal, hospital-based injury surveillance is feasible, and rich injury data can be obtained by embedding data collectors in EDs.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 30, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Dec 2, 2021
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2021
• Deposit Date: Dec 11, 2021
• Publicly Available Date: Dec 15, 2021
• Journal: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Print ISSN: 1661-7827
• Electronic ISSN: 1660-4601
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 18
• Issue: 23
• Article Number: 12701
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph182312701
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/8186538