Prevalence of childhood injuries: A survey of injury epidemiology in rural population of Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract

Background: Injuries among children lead to disability in early years of life affecting their opportunities to lead a healthy life. It also has multiple impacts on family and society.Objectives: The study was planned to find the prevalence of injuries among children and to study the pattern and determinants of injuries.Materials and Methods: A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted for 3 months among children aged <18 years. Occurrence of injuries during the previous 6 months was included in the study. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0 and presented in the form of mean and percentage.Results: A total of 410 children have participated in this study. Injuries were more common among children aged 6–9 years compared to children of other age groups. Male children (52.8%) had more number of injuries than female children (47.2%). Lower limb (33.9%) was the most common body part injured. Cut injuries and laceration accounted for 56.2% of the injuries. Majority (43%) of the injuries occurred due to falls. Eighty-seven percent of the injuries were mild.Conclusion: Severity of injury was mild in most of the injuries. Still pediatric injuries had contributed to economic loss to the family and affected schooling of the children.