Unintentional Childhood Injuries and Their Association with Activity and Location at the Time of Injury - A Case-Crossover Study in Delhi

Background: Childhood injury has been identified as a grave public health problem globally as well as in India. Most studies have reported injuries to have occurred while the child was at home, though injuries while on road, school, or playground also commonly occurred. Objective: The objective of the study is to find the association between unintentional childhood injury and the activity and location of the child at the time of injury. Methods: The present study is part of a larger study for preventing childhood injuries, conducted from August 2017 to January 2019 in Delhi, and reports the activity and location of the children at the time of injury. A total of 173 injuries that occurred during the total study duration were included in the analysis. Data regarding activity and location of the subjects were collected and analyzed by case-crossover study design, during "case/hazard period" and two "control/reference periods." Results: Majority of the injuries occurred while the subjects were at home and engaged in activities other than normal activity. When various locations and activities were combined, unmatched odds ratios (ORs) were raised for activity other than normal activity (statistically significant) and for location other than at home. Similar results were obtained for matched Mantel-Haenszel OR, with activity other than normal being significantly more risk for injury (P = 0.000). Conclusion: Majority of unintentional injuries occurred in children and adolescents, while the subjects were away from home and engaged in any activity other than normal daily activities. This indicates the importance of teaching safety behavior to children so that they can prevent being injured wherever they go and whatever activity they perform.