Childhood injuries in Singapore: a community nationwide study

MM Thein, BW Lee, PY Bun
Correspondence: Dr Myint Myint Thein, mmthein@pacific.net.sg

ABSTRACT
Introduction Childhood injuries are the leading cause of death for children between 5 to 14 years of age in Singapore. However, there is no information or data on childhood injuries in the community in Singapore. There was a need to conduct a nationwide study on childhood injuries in Singapore in order to estimate the prevalence rate, types of injuries, and to identify the hazards in the homes of the children.
Methods A cross-sectional nationwide study with a two-stage stratified random sampling was conducted to obtain a representative sample of the Singapore population. Families that had children younger than 15 years of age were selected for the study. Parents and caregivers were interviewed at their homes.
Results There were 2322 children in the study, of which 452 had one or more injuries in the past one year, giving an overall prevalence rate of 19.5 percent. Of the children who had injuries, the home was the commonest place where injuries occurred (45 percent) and falls were the leading cause of injuries (77 percent). There were many hazards identified in the homes studied and it was found that the more hazards present in the homes, the more likely it is for the child to get injuries.
Conclusion There is a need for educational and interventional programmes to help Singaporeans understand the need to make the home environment safe for children and to prevent home injuries.

Keywords: childhood injuries, community, home hazards, home injuries
Singapore Med J 2005; 46(3): 116-121