| Objective To investigate the epidemiological characteristics of unintentional injury and to evaluate the risk factors for unintentional injury among primary and junior middle school students in the rural areas of Liling, Hunan Province, China, as a basis for developing prevention and intervention measures for unintentional injury in rural children.Methods All students from4junior middle schools and2primary schools in eastern and western rural areas of Liling of Hunan Province were sampled in October2013by the cluster random sampling. The general personal information and data on family backgrounds, living environment and incidence of unintentional injury were collected from all subjects through a self-designed questionnaire. The risk factors for childhood unintentional injury were assessed by an unconditional multiple logistic regression analysis.Results A total of3550questionnaires were sent and3257valid questionnaires were received, with an effective recovery of91.75%. Out of the3257subjects,356(10.9%;95%CI9.8%-12.0%) were injured during the12-month period prior to the study. Out of the356injured children,162(45.5%) were injured by falls, which was the most common cause of injuries,51children (14.3%) were injured in traffic accidents,32children (9.0%) suffered burns and another32children were injured by crashing and bumping.70.2%were injured in the arms and legs, which was the most common, followed by the head&neck (19.1%) and body trunk (9.1%). Road, home and school are common places where unintentional injury occurred, with a percentage of34.3%,32.3%and22.8%respectively.42.7%were slightly injured,29.5%were moderately injured,7.9%were severely injured and one boy became disabled due to a traffic accident. The majority (79.8%) was recovered following injuries, but12.6%were in discomfort at the injured site and7.3%presented limitation of motion and one boy had a disability.87.4%needed treatments after injuries for a median of3days.39.3%were absent in school after injuries, with a median of2days, and one boy suspend his schooling for a year. The injured children spent100yuan at a median level for treating injuries, and one of them spent40000yuan.The univariate analysis showed that unintentional injury in these subjects was related to sex, left-behind status, times of internet surfing in internet bars per week, parent companion or not, age of guardian, degree of harmony of parents’marital relationship, employment status of one or both parents as a migrant worker, storage of fireworks and firecrackers at home or not, violence in residential areas, and participation or not in violence in residential areas. The unconditional multiple logistic regression analysis showed that the major risk factors for unintentional injury in these subjects were male gender (OR=0.751,95%CI=0.599-0.941, P=0.013), left-behind status (OR=1.779,95%CI=1.393-2.273, P=0.000), storage of fireworks and firecrackers at home (OR=1.337,95%CI=1.032-1.732, P=0.028) and violence around residential areas (OR=1.517,95%CI=1.235-1.862, P=0.000).Conclusions The prevalence of unintentional injury among primary and junior middle school students in the rural areas of Liling, Hunan Province was10.9%, which was at a medium-low level in China. Falls, traffic accidents, burns and crashing&pumping were common causes of injuries. Road, home and school were common places where injures occur. Most injures were mild. The majority recovered after injuries, but some children were in discomfort at the injured site or had limitation of motion and one boy had a disability. Risk for unintentional injury was multifactorial among children in the rural areas of Liling, Hunan. To reduce the incidence of unintentional injury in primary and junior middle school students in Liling, particular attention should be paid to boys, left-behind children, children who have home storage of fireworks and firecrackers and children who are living in areas with frequent violence. |
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