Childhood injuries in rural north India

Abstract

This article reports the results of 100% household injury surveillance project conducted over a 1-year period in nine contiguous villages with a total population of 22,883 persons in north India. Fourteen trained field workers did the health and injury survey by visiting 16–20 households every day. In this article, we document the epidemiology of injuries among children in rural households. A person was considered injured if the injury prevented the victim from continuing a normal daily routine as understood by the family and the victim. A total of 2029 injury cases were recorded. Children in the age group 0–14 years accounted for 611 (30%) of all injury cases of which 42% were injured at home (28% for >14 years), 35% on roads (30% for >14 years), 8% on farms (31% for >14 years) and 6% on playgrounds. The maximum number of injuries was due to falls (35%). Eighty per cent of the injuries were minor (Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) 1), 18% were moderate or serious (AIS 2–3); none were severe (AIS 4) and one child had a critical injury (AIS 5). The injury rates per 100,000 children in different age groups were 5354, 6962 and 8060 for 0–4, 5–9 and 10–14 years per year.

Keywords:

• farm
• child
• injuries
• India