Home Injuries Research Articles

Methodology in an ecological framework: hearing parents voices on child home safety

Measuring mortality, morbidity or controllable hazards, and determining risk factors are crucial starting points for developing interventions for child home injury. For programmes to work effectively however, an analysis of...

A randomised, controlled trial of home injury hazard reduction: The HOME injury study

BackgroundThe home is a leading location of injury for young children.ObjectiveTest the efficacy of home safety device installation on medically-attended injury.MethodsOf 8878 screened prenatal patients, 1263 (14%) were eligible and...

Carefree and injury prone young people: results from Finnish National Victimisation survey 2003–2006

issueVictimisation surveys are used to compare 15–24-year-olds with 25–64-year-olds in terms of proportion injured and fear of injury.MethodsNational victimisation surveys are interview studies in which a systematic random sample of...

On-line survey with story sharing on risky behaviour for home safety

ProblemIn China, injury is the leading killer of children aged under 14; around 43% child injury occurs at home (1 survey of childhood unintentional injury patterns and parental awareness in...

Recent developments in behavioural research and prevention of childhood injuries

In most developed nations, unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for children. In this symposium, an international panel of speakers will present behavioural research designed to promote safe...

Home injury risks in homes of urban dwelling seniors and disabled persons

PurposeSeniors and disabled persons suffer disproportionate risks from fires, scalds and carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning compared to the general population. Little has been done to evaluate the presence of injury...

Child home safety: are we tackling a wicked problem with tame solutions?

Unintentional injury to young children often occurs at home. Common causes have been identified and a few interventions proven, but many injuries still occur that appear predictable and preventable. The...

Health Technology Assessment, ricerca e sanità pubblica

The relationship between research, health technology assessment (HTA) and public health has been recognized as fundamental in recent years in Italy, both at the national and regional levels. Sometimes the HTA process could be seen as an opportunity to conduct primary research, and this process is well established in some Countries. Nevertheless, the research for HTA purposes several times suffers from lack of evidence in terms of availability of clinical trials, economic evaluations, legal, ethical and social assessments. The research as a HTA tool could be of great interest in the field of public health, not only for well established issues, such as vaccination, but also for alcohol, smoking and drug abuse, for dietary habits, home and traffic injuries, physical and psychiatric disability.

Letter to the Editor

Carbon monoxide poisonings are a leading cause of unintentional home injury and are largely preventable through the appropriate use of carbon monoxide detectors. Given that laws to mandate installation of carbon monoxide detectors in homes are being considered and passed throughout the United States, it is imperative that we redouble our efforts to conduct comprehensive surveillance to examine the prevalence of residential carbon monoxide detectors, as well as morbidity and mortality due to carbon monoxide poisoning. Information that is gathered should then be used to evaluate the effect of policies on behavior and health outcomes and also to improve the effectiveness of promotion efforts. These efforts could substantially reduce injury and illness and death from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Non-fatal injuries among Chinese aged 65 years and older: findings from the Fourth National Health Services Survey

ObjectiveTo understand the epidemiology of non-fatal injuries among adults aged 65 years and older in China.DesignCross-sectional survey (the Fourth National Health Services Survey of China).ParticipantsUrban and rural residents aged 65...

Child home injury mortality in Europe: a 16-country analysis

Child injury mortality and morbidity are a public health concern in European countries and data are scarce. Cross-national efforts are needed to identify high-risk groups, follow trends and assist in establishing European-wide safety legislation. This study investigates fatal child injuries in the home, as compared to those in transport in European countries. Injury mortality was extracted from the World Health Organization Mortality Database for the years 2002-04. The mortality rate per 100 000 population was calculated by age group for 16 contributing countries, grouped by their economic level of development. Fatal home injuries were highest in children under 5 years of age and then sharply decreased, as opposed to road traffic injuries, which increased with age. The majority of the upper-middle-economy countries tended to have higher home injury incidence rates compared to the high-income countries. The top five injury causes all countries aggregated were drowning/submersion, thermal injuries, poisoning, falls and homicide, all of which account for almost 90% of home injury deaths. Home injuries were the leading cause of injury death in children under 5 years of age in the countries under study and the inequalities found among the countries indicate potential for improvement. Evidence-based interventions exist to prevent these injuries and the barriers to their implementation ought to be determined and addressed.

How adequate are emergency department home and leisure injury surveillance systems for cross-country comparisons in Europe?

The objective of this study was to assess whether the emergency department (ED) injury surveillance systems in Europe are suitable for cross-country comparisons. For this, the ED injury surveillance systems in Austria, Denmark, Greece, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and the UK (England, Wales) were considered. Standardised injury incidence and healthcare utilisation indices were calculated and the influence of measurement bias due to data collection and sampling differences, as well as trauma policy and health systems characteristics were assessed. The results showed that there was an over 3-fold variation of the grossly estimated incidence for home and leisure injuries (HLIs), with the highest values observed in England and Greece (111 and 104 per 1000 person years), and the lowest in Ireland and the Netherlands (27 and 48 per 1000 person years). The ranking of countries changed, however, when only injuries with an inherent need for ED treatment were considered (selected radiological verifiable fractures) with Austria topping the table followed by Greece and England. Thus, it is concluded that the naïve use of ED injury surveillance systems for cross-country comparisons should be discouraged, as this is subject to measurement bias. Nevertheless, the observed variation in the healthcare utilisation and injury incidence, particularly among children and older people, indicates the potential to reduce the burden of HLI in Europe.

The prevalence of home injuries among elderly people in Samsun, Turkey, and the influencing factors

Home injuries are a serious public health problem for the elderly. Our aim was to investigate the prevalence of home injuries among elderly people in Samsun, Turkey, and the influencing factors. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted between 1 January and 28 February 2007. A questionnaire, the Home-Screen Scale (HSS), and the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) were administered to the elderly subjects. Results: Of all participants, 20.6% had experienced some kind of home injury. Seven participants living alone and 14 living with their families had suffered home injuries, suggesting a statistically significant difference between these 2 groups (P < 0.05). Eleven (14.7%) subjects living in secure housing and 10 (37.0%) living in unsecure housing had suffered home injuries, the difference again being statistically significant (P < 0.05). Conclusion: Home injuries are more common among people living alone and in unsecure housing according to the HSS.

Patterns of Unintentional Domestic Injuries in Korea

To investigate the patterns of unintentional home injuries in Korea. The study population was 12,382,088 people who utilized National Health Insurance services due to injuries (main diagnosis codes S00 to T28) during 2006. Stratified samples(n=459,501) were randomly selected by sex, age group and severity of injury. A questionnaire was developed based on the International Classification of External Causes of Injury and 18,000 cases surveyed by telephone were analyzed after being projected into population proportionately according to the response rates of their strata. Domestic injury cases were finally included. Domestic injuries (n=3,804) comprised 21.1% of total daily life injuries during 2006. Women were vulnerable to home injuries, with the elderly and those of lower income (medical-aid users) tending to suffer more severe injuries. Injury occurred most often due to a slipping fall (33.9%), overexertion (15.3%), falling (9.5%) and stumbling (9.4%), with severe injury most often resulting from slipping falls, falls and stumbles. Increasing age correlated with domestic injury-related disability. The present findings provide basic information for development of home injury prevention strategies, with focus on the elderly.

Sosyoekonomik Düzeyi Düşük Olan Ailelerin Ev Kazaları Hakkında Bilgi Düzeylerinin Ölçülmesi

Objective: Determining the types of home injuries observed with children between ages 0 to 5, factors that lead to these injuries, and attitudes and behaviors of families in preventing these injuries. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire composed of 47 questions was employed for 500 families with children aged between 0 and 5 who visited the Ankara Research and Training Hospital between April and June in 2009. Results: 248 (49.6%) of the participants indicated that their children had had a home injury. 129 of the children (52.1%) were male. The risk of a home injury increased as the age of parents decreased, number of siblings increased, socioeconomic level decreased (especially with those families who live in illegally built houses), and the size of the family increased. The most frequent types of home injuries were falling and slipping, and of those injured, 56% and 60.4% were hospitalized. There was a statistically signifi cant diff erence between the types of injuries in terms of hospitalization ratios. In the families of children who had injuries, it was determined that incorrect behaviors and attitudes are more often seen in mothers who have a low level of education. Conclusions: The risk of home injury increases especially with the decrease in parental ages. Because of this, we consider that the risk of home injuries could decrease with education given to families, especially those who visit polyclinics. (JAEM 2010; 9: 129-33)

Guidance for Occupational Health Services in Medical Centers

Guidance for Occupational Health Services in Medical Centers

Home Injuries: Potential for Prevention

There are approximately 18 000 injury-related deaths at home each year. Some of the leading causes of home injury deaths are falls, fire/ burns, poisonings, choking/suffocations, and drownings. Many more home injuries are treated at emergency departments, in doctors’ offices, or with self-care at home. Children and older adults are especially at risk for home injuries, and environmental factors can contribute to population disparities in home injuries. The causes and circumstances of home injuries are complex and multifaceted. This article provides an overview of the epidemiology and burden of home injuries and reviews the evidence for prevention by life stage. Reducing the risk of injuries at home is challenging, but fortunately there many ways that practitioners can help promote safer behaviors and help change home environments for patients and their families.

Validation of a HOME Injury Survey

Background:There are no validated observational surveys to assess injury hazards in the home environment.Objective:To evaluate the reproducibility and reliability of a survey quantifying home injury hazards for children.Methods:A nested cohort...

Epidemiology of domestic injuries. A survey in an emergency department in North-East Italy.

Home injuries (HI) represent a social and public health problem worldwide. In Italy, there are 1,300,000-1,700,000 admissions to Emergency Department (ED) for HI and 130,000 hospitalizations every year, but the data are incomplete and fragmentary. A study of the phenomenon was carried out in Emergency Department (ED) of Civil Hospital of Verona to evaluate prevalence, characteristics and possible preventive actions. In 2007, 3120 admission for HI have been registered at the Eä of the Civil Hospital of Verona. The distribution was calculated in relation to sex, age, month, code of urgency, outcomes, type and location of trauma. Children in pre-school age, men between 30 and 40 years and women over 60 years are the population groups most at risk, with a fairly homogeneous incidence distribution. Both sexes have similar distributions up to 41-50 years followed by an increase in females and a decrease in males at higher age. The traumas are generally slight (49.8% white code and 42.1% green code) and the hospitalizations represent 5.8% of all recorded HI. The most frequent injuries are wounds/abrasions (28.7%), contusions/crushing (27.7%) and fractures/distortions/ dislocations. The most affected body parts are hands and wrists (25.9%). Head trauma is significantly more frequent in children and elderly people, fracture in elderly people, and burn in adult women and male children. Every year about 30% of the admissions to emergency departments are caused by HI. Even though 92% of the times the events aren't serious, the sanitary cost is consistent due to the elevate number of admissions. It is therefore important to do prevention through sanitary education and adequate building legislation.

Child home injury prevention: understanding the context of unintentional injuries to preschool children

Injury to young children at home is a public health problem. In New Zealand, over half the injury deaths and hospitalisations among 0–4 year olds occur at home. Causes and risk factors for child injury have been identified, but their circumstances are not well described. Understanding the context, however, is important for developing and implementing effective prevention. To obtain the descriptions of injury events, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 100 caregivers of 0–4 year olds attending an emergency department for a home injury. Analysis from this exploratory study indicated that most events occurred within usual family activity, but had multiple factors interacting. Injury was rarely the expected outcome. Findings concurred with findings from others’ research that reported home injury to be complex and multifaceted. Factors related to the environment, the child, the parent, their behaviours and activity interacted, with common patterns preceding injury being evident such as times of day and disrupted routines. Factors were often found to occur regardless of the cause of injury. Complex parental factors were identified, such as not anticipating risk, having unrealistic expectations of children, lacking knowledge of child development and accepting injury as a norm. Directions for further research are identified.