Injuries to Children Introduction
Background: Injuries among Infants and Young Children
Injuries include all the ways an individual can be physically hurt, impaired or killed, involving intentional or unintentional damage to the body. Intentional injuries among infants and young children include violence or abuse afflicted by another person.1 Unintentional injuries, however, are the focus of this report. Examples of unintentional injuries among young children include falls, motor vehicle crashes, burns and unintentional poisoning.
Despite a decrease in deaths from injury since the 1990s, unintentional injury remains the leading cause of death among Canadian children aged 1-9 years, for both sexes2, with rates highest among toddlers.1 These injuries also rank in the top ten leading causes of death for those under one year of age.2 In addition, unintentional injuries are within the top ten leading causes of hospitalization among young children.4 Evidence from national surveys indicates that one in ten Canadian children are injured each year.5 Despite these statistics, parents and caregivers are not well informed about the most common causes of death and disability among children. A 2006 survey of KFL&A mothers indicated that only 60% knew that injuries are the leading cause of death.6
It is estimated that 95% of injuries are preventable and predictable.1 Yet an enduring societal perception is that injuries are accidents and are an inevitable part of childhood. Although public perceptions may be slowly changing due to federal, provincial and local injury prevention efforts, surveys of parents show that very few believe injuries are completely preventable. A recent survey of KFL&A mothers found that 73% thought injuries were fairly or very preventable, but only 3% thought injuries were completely preventable. Almost all mothers felt there were things they could do to decrease the chances their child would be injured, but only two-thirds were sure that they had sufficient information to prevent their child being injured in the home.6
Rationale
The Ontario Public Health Standards 20083 recognize the burden and impact of injuries on the health of Ontarians. The OPHS directs KFL&A Public Health's injury prevention efforts, with the ultimate goal of "reducing the frequency, severity and impact of preventable injury".3 KFLA Public Health is required to conduct active surveillance of local injuries and to use evidence-informed strategies in collaboration with community partners to reduce the risk of injuries in our region. Kingston is unique among Ontario cities in having a population-based injury surveillance system in place. Surveillance data presented in this report will inform program planning and guide priority setting for local efforts for injury prevention among infants and young children.
Objectives
The purpose of the present report is to describe characteristics of children's injuries in the KFL&A area for the period from 2001 to 2005. The objectives are to:
- provide statistics to determine whether the frequency of injuries is changing,
- determine the causes of injury for which intervention programs are needed,
- identify settings in which injuries take place, and
- identify at-risk populations who should be targeted in injury prevention programs.