Objective: To study the frequency and type of domestic accidents Study design: Prospective Epidemiological studyParticipants / Study area: Rural area of Punjab, India Methodology : Frequency of domestic accidents was studied in the participants as per age, sex, mode of injury, category of injury and place of injuryStatistical analysis: Percentages & Chi-square testResults: A total of 300 accidents occurred in one year in the 2825 individuals studied in one year. Incidence density was calculated to be 106.2 accidents per thousand person-years of observation. More accidents occurred in females (173) as compared to males (127). There were 53.2 % Trivial, 27.3% Minor & 11.7% serious accidents. No Fatal accident was reported. 44.3% of accident were reported to be ‘fall at level and fall from height’. Maximum (53.3%) accidents occurred in the courtyard. Introduction Unintentional injuries are a major public health problem worldwide. Member-countries of South-East Asia Region (SEAR) are passing through a major epidemiological transition, socio-demographic change & technological revolution during the past two decades. (1) These changes have resulted in an unprecedented upsurge of non-communicable diseases and injuries. Recent progress in industrialisation & use of vehicles, increased number of people living in crowded & unsafe settlements, coupled with inaccessible & unaffordable emergency health services also contribute to the higher health burden of injury in the developing regions of the world. (2 ) Accidents in the home as causes of injury & death are of great importance - the equivalent in public health terms - of a major epidemic.( 3) It is known that hospital data show only a fraction of the complete picture of physical injuries in a community. (2, 4, 5, 6) Also most of the research, especially hospital based research, has focused on major & fatal injuries. Population-based estimates of the burden of common injuries such as falls, burns and farm/field related injuries are still uncommon. (7) Hence, this population-based study was conducted to estimate the incidence & pattern of domestic injuries in a rural area of Punjab, India. Material & Methods This was a descriptive prospective epidemiological community-based study carried out in the village Saharan Majra. It was selected randomly out of a group of ten villages under the rural field practice area of Department of Community Medicine, Dayanand Medical College & Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab. The entire population of the village consisting of 2825 individuals was studied for one year. Domestic accident in this study included any unforeseen untoward happening in the house, its compound, up to and including the steps leading to the house.The entire population of the rural area is closely monitored by female health workers who provide home-based comprehensive healthcare. The health worker of the village made a specific regular enquiry about the occurrence of any accident in the family since their previous visit and reported to the investigator, who then investigated all the accidents personally. During the visit, a pre-tested proforma incorporating the particulars of the family, its dwelling and its surrounding was completed (House-hold characteristics). A second proforma incorporating the details about the accident was also filled up (Individual injury event). The proforma covered accidents occurring in the house such as falls, electric current injuries, cuts and burns during kitchen practice, injuries while playing in the house and any mishap by taking poisons / household products like kerosene oil / medicines / pesticides and any other type of accidents. These parameters were as per International statistical classification of disease and related health Problems (ICD-10). (8) For each accident case a closely matched control was studied. Accidents outside the home i.e. at the place of work or at school and those which happen to be road traffic accidents were excluded from the study
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