Injuries are
the third leading cause of death in the European region. In-spite of their
magnitude and preventability, Injuries are neglected more than other diseases
Domestic
accidents are accidents that occur in homes, or in its immediate surroundings.
In European countries, home accidents have more fatality than road traffic
accidents. Every domestic accident inflicts different measures of distress to
the victims as well as the family members, and the consequences may be
disastrous on both community and individual level when resulted in permanent
disability (S.Galal, 1999) .
Children being
unaware of the dangers of their surroundings, they are more prone to home
accidents. The leading cause of domestic accidents among childhood in homes are
drowning, falls, thermal injuries and poisoning. The home is of significance
when analyzing child injuries as it is an environment where children are
brought up, and achieve developmental milestones by interacting with their
physical surroundings. The risk factor of injuries among children within the
home is a joint interaction between the caregiver, the child and the home
surroundings (Laflamme, 2010) .
Types of home accident injuries:
Drowning
Drowning the 2nd
leading cause of death among children age 0-19 years within the European union.
It is accounted for 14 deaths per day and 5000 deaths per year. In addition,
for each child that dies from drowning, 2 are estimated to be permanently
disabled, resulting to neurological damages in the child. Children can drown
within an inch of water such as bath tubs and indoor pools.
Poisoning
Poisoning is
the third leading cause of domestic injuries among children in European
countries. 3000 children between 0-14 years die/year. The curiosity and desire
to put everything in their mouth puts a child in high risk to the exposure of
poison. Children eat or drink anything they see that is attractive, regardless
the taste of the of the substance (Alliance, Poisoning Among Children, 2009) .
Children are
more likely to suffer serious consequences when exposed to poison because of
their size, and their fast-metabolic rates. Their body is unable to neutralize
toxic substances. More than 90% of poisonings occur in the homes, and many of
these chemicals are cleaning supplies, pills, pesticides, medicines, cosmetics
etc (Center, Harborview Injury Prevention & Research, 2001) . .
Thermal injuries
Children are
naturally curious of their surroundings as they become older and more mobile.
They begin to familiarize with their surroundings, as a result, they come In
contact with objects that can give them severe injuries such as burns. Thermal
injuries are the most painful and devastating experience a child should go
through, as it affects them on a long term (Ruth Baker, 2016) . According to WHO Global Burden of
Disease, in 2004, 30% of the population (310,000) who died from severe burns
were under the age of 20 years. Fire related injuries are the 11th
leading cause of death for children between 1 and 9 years. In total, children
are at high risk for death from burns with a global estimate of 3.9 deaths/100
000 population (Margie Peden, 2008) .
Fall
Data shows that
falls is the most frequent type o injury resulting in hospitalization emergency.
Although it is part of a child growing up, non-fatal falls is a significant
burden on healthcare facilities. Falls from heights, or on concrete floors can
result to severe injuries, disabilities or even death. Children are at risk as
they may underestimate their physical balance or mental ability to perform
activities safely. Falls are the most important source of disability because
they are common, and have serious long term health consequences. Changing tables,
stairs, windows, balconies, and playgrounds are risk factors of falls (Dinesh Sethi)
References
1.
Alliance, E. C. (2009, 0ctomber). Poisoning Among Children. Retrieved
from http://www.childsafetyeurope.org/publications/info/factsheets/childhood-poisoning.pdf
2.
Alliance, E. C.
(2012). CHILD SAFETY REPORT CARD. Retrieved from
http://www.childsafetyeurope.org/reportcards/info/romania-report-card.pdf
3.
Center,
Harborview Injury Prevention & Research. (2001). Reducing the impact of
injury and violence on people’s lives through research, education, training
and public awareness.
4.
Devroey D1, V.
C. (2006, September 13). The incidence of home accidents is going down in
Belgium. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16943166
5.
Dinesh Sethi, E.
T.-G. (n.d.). European Report on Child Injurt Prevention. Retrieved from
http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0003/83757/E92049.pdf
6.
Laflamme, M. S.
(2010, April 29). Child home injury mortality in Europe: a 16-country
analysis. European Journal of Public Health. Retrieved from
https://academic.oup.com/eurpub/article/21/2/166/497614/Child-home-injury-mortality-in-Europe-a-16-country
7.
Margie Peden, K.
O.-S. (2008). World Report on Child Injury Prevention. Retrieved from
file:///C:/Users/alina/Documents/2nd%20year,%202nd%20semester/VIP/World_report.pdf
8.
Ruth Baker, a.
L. (2016, November 4). Differing patterns in thermal injury incidence and hospitalisations
among 0–4 year old children from England. NCBI. Retrieved from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5062947/
9.
S.Galal. (1999).
working with families to reduce the risk of home accidents in children.
Retrieved from http://applications.emro.who.int/emhj/0503/EMHJ_1999_5_3_572_582.pdf
10.
WHO. (2005, May
30). Preventing children accidents and improving home safety in the
European Region. WHO Europe. WHO European Centre for Environment and
Health, Bonn Office . Retrieved from http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/98666/Bonn_accident_rep.pdf
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