Frequency,Causes,And places of unintentional injuries in a nationally representative sample of iranian children and adolescents: the CASPIAN-IV study

Background: this study aims to assess the frequency,causes,and places of injuries in a nationally representative sample of iranian children and adolescents,as well as the referral,places allocated for injured individuals.methods: this nationwide study was conducted in 2011-2012 among 13486 elementary,secondary and high-school students who were selected by random cluster stratified multistage sampling from 30 provinces in iran. the global school-based health survey questionnaire of the world health organization was used.results: the study participants consisted of 50.8% boys,75.6% urban resident with a mean age of 12.5 years. overall,20.25% of participants reported that they were minimally injured once in the last 12 months; this prevalence was higher in boys than in girls (25.74% vs. 14.58%,respectively,p < 0.001),without significant difference in urban (20.11%) and rural (20.69%) areas. most of them (39.92%) were injured at homes or house yards with higher prevalence in girls than in boys (48.61% vs. 35.17%,respectively,p < 0.001) and in rural than in urban areas (27.30% vs. 20.89%,respectively,p < 0.001). schools were reported as the second prevalent site of injury occurrence (22.50%). emergency departments and physician offices were the most prevalent referral places for injured individuals (32.31% and 22.38%,respectively). most of the school injuries occurred during play or sport activities (45.92%).conclusions: prevention of unintentional injuries should be considered as a health priority. appropriate preventive strategies should be enhanced at homes and schools. © 2014,isfahan university of medical sciences(iums). all rights reserved.