Population-based approach to study unintentional injury occurrences in Pune city, India

Abstract

Most injury-related studies in developing countries are hospital based. In India, where there is a high level of poverty, limited access to the health care, many unregistered slums and pavement dwellers, this study attempted to use an innovative sampling method to identify the magnitude of injuries in a population of an urban city in India. Totally, 9014 individuals (2100 households), representative of more than 3.5 million population were selected from 14 administrative wards of the city of Pune. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to elicit information. The annual incidence rate of unintentional injuries was 174 (95% CI 164–184) per 1000 individuals. There were 26 reported cases of death in a recall period of 5 years. Maximum number of unintentional injuries were due to road traffic accidents (49.5%) followed by falls (24.9%). These results showed the magnitude of unintentional injuries among the population. The study sampling method can be employed as a reference for similar studies in other developing countries.

Keywords:

• unintentional injuries
• population-based studies
• India

Acknowledgement

The authors thank all the participants in this study for their sincere cooperation and patience. Financial support from BJD, India:NAN is highly appreciated.

Notes

1. The author recalls a woman (pavement dweller) who suffered from deformity in the wrist and permanent disability as a result of a fall. She could not afford to even visit a doctor or be referred to any care centre.