Epidemiology of unintentional child injuries in the makwanpur district of Nepal: A household survey

Pant, Puspa Raj; Towner, Elizabeth; Ellis, Matthew; Manandhar, Dharma; Pilkington, Paul; Mytton, Julie

Abstract

© 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. Secondary sources of information indicate that the proportion of child deaths due to injuries is increasing in Nepal. This study aimed to describe the epidemiology of unintentional injuries in children, explore risk factors and estimate the burden faced by families and the community in the Makwanpur district. We conducted a household survey in Makwanpur, covering 3441 households. Injuries that occurred during the 12 months before the survey and required treatment or caused the child to be unable to take part in usual activities for three or more days were included. We identified 193 cases of non-fatal unintentional child injuries from 181 households and estimated an annual rate of non-fatal injuries of 24.6/1000 children; rates for boys were double (32.7/1000) that for girls (16.8/1000). The rates were higher among the children of age groups 1–4 years and 5–9 years. Falls were the most common cause of non-fatal child injuries followed by burns in preschool children and road traffic injuries were the most likely cause in adolescence. Mean period of disability following injury was 25 days. The rates and the mechanisms of injury vary by age and gender. Falls and burns are currently the most common mechanisms of injury amongst young children around rural homes.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 23, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Nov 30, 2015
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Nov 30, 2015
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 23, 2016
• Journal: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
• Print ISSN: 1661-7827
• Electronic ISSN: 1660-4601
• Publisher: MDPI
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 12
• Issue: 12
• Pages: 15118-15128
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph121214967
• Keywords: child injury, unintentional injuries, community-based, household survey, Nepal
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/802751
• Publisher URL: http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/12/12/14967
• Contract Date: Feb 23, 2016