Prevalence and pattern of childhood injuries in Siliguri City, West Bengal, India

Abstract

Children are vulnerable to injuries, and childhood injury is a complex phenomenon precipitated by a set of factors. In India, the magnitude and nature of childhood injury are not clearly known owing to the absence of a proper injury surveillance system. However, in recent days few studies demonstrated a substantially high burden of childhood injury. To find out the prevalence, pattern, and the factors associated with injury among children of 0-14 years in the Siliguri city of West Bengal. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 780 children aged 0-14 years residing in the Siliguri Municipal Corporation area selected through cluster sampling technique (30 clusters [wards] with a cluster size of 26). Relevant data were collected by interviewing the mothers of children as respondents and was analyzed using SPSS software, binary logistic regression was applied to test the association between injury and other risk factors. Of total 780 children, 165 had reported a total of 220 injury events with an overall period prevalence of 21.2% and a mean of 0.28 injury events per child. Majority of injuries were superficial in nature (53.2%); due to fall (56.4%), extremities were mostly involved (62.3%), and 12.8% cases were moderate-to-severe grade. Under-five children were most vulnerable. Injury was significantly related to socioeconomic status, presence of siblings, outdoor activities, and the presence of supervising person during travelling. Childhood injury is still highly prevalent in the area with its unique pattern and few preventable risk factors requiring a multifaceted comprehensive approach.