TITLE:
Caregivers’ Perception of Unintentional Child and Adolescent Injuries in Enugu, Nigeria
AUTHORS:
Christopher B. Eke, Obianuju O. Igbokwe, Vivian O. Onukwuli
KEYWORDS:
Childhood Injuries, Caregivers’ Perception, Nigeria
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Pediatrics,
Vol.9 No.3,
August
22,
2019
ABSTRACT: Background: Injury is an increasing cause of
childhood morbidity and mortality globally. Purpose: The objective of
the study was to evaluate caregivers’ perception of unintentional child and
adolescent injuries in Enugu. Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Data were collected from caregivers of children attending the
children’s outpatients’ unit of the hospital during the period of the study,
who were selected consecutively using semi-structured interviewer administered
questionnaire. Data were analysed using SPSS version 20.0. The level of
statistical significance was set at p Results: A total of 728
caregiver-child pairs were interviewed, out of which 526 (72.3%) recalled history of injuries in their wards within the past
12months. Most of the injuries occurred at home (334; 63.5%), in males 329 (62.5%), and in the 1 - 4 years age group 239 (45.4%).
On further analysis, age of the child, male sex, residence in rural area and stage
of child’s development significantly predicted the risk of having an
unintentional injury. Majority of the interviewees had heard of first aid (432;
59.3%) though only a few 23 (5.4%) actually owned well equipped first aid boxes.
Most of the respondents felt that injuries in children were preventable, 429
(58.9%). However, a good number agreed that they needed clear education on
preventive measures of childhood injuries, 485 (66.6%). Conclusion: Unintentional
injuries occur commonly in children and are largely preventable. Appropriate
health and environmental education is needed to reduce the rising incidence of
injuries in children in our setting.