Accidents in Children under 5 Years in Yazd Province, Iran

Abstract

Introduction:Accidents are one of the most important causes of injury and death across the world, including Iran. The epidemiological data play a key role in taking effective strategic decisions for their prevention and control. This study was conducted to determine the Frequency of different types of accidents in children aged under 5 years living in Yazd province, Iran.

Methods: In this cross-sectional study, data on 2489 children under 5 years referred to hospitals in Yazd province were collected from March, 2015 to March, 2016, using the accidents registration forms and the related software. Chi-square test was incorporated to analyze the results using SPSS version 19.

Results: The frequency of accidents in boys was 1460 (58.7%) and in girls 1029 (41.3%). Accidents occurred most frequently in April-May (n: 245, 9.8%) and the winter (n: 693, 27.8%). 93.3% of accidents occurred in the urban areas, 4.4% in the rural areas and 2.3% in outside the city and the villages. The total  number of accidents at home was 1743 (70%) and in the alleys and on the streets 495 (19%), the most frequent accident was falling (n: 743, 29.9%), followed by burns (n: 543, 21.8%) and  trauma (n: 495, 19.9%).

The difference in the type of accident between different age groups was significant (P< 0.001).

Conclusion: The comparatively higher frequency of falling, burn, trauma, as well as the accidents at home and in the winter indicate parents’ insufficient attention to home safety standards and their lack of adequate information about protection of children under5 years against the most common accidents of this age group. Planning for and intervention in these areas might help in reducing the accidents.