Citation

Roman IM, Lewis ER, Kigwangalla HA, Wilson ML. Int. J. Inj. Control Safe. Promot. 2012; 19(2): 135-139.

Affiliation

Centre for Injury Prevention & Community Safety, Peercorps Trust Fund , 352/64 Makunganya Street, Co-Architecture Building, 4th Floor, P.O. Box 22499 , Dar es Salaam , Tanzania.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/17457300.2011.628753

PMID

22054222

Abstract

The objective of this study was to identify the incidence of burn injuries among children in a sub-Saharan urban area and describe contributing factors in the home environment. A cross-sectional household survey was conducted in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania between 8 and 22 July 2009. Demographic characteristics of participants were reported using descriptive statistics. Bivariate analyses using Pearson's chi-square tests for categorical variables were used to explore possible associations. Burns represented 16.3% of reported injuries. The one-month incidence was calculated to be 1.73%. The most common contributor to burn injury was open flame 36.9%, followed by hot liquids 33.8%. Most burns occurred in urban areas with 88% occurring in the home. A significant association with burn injury was found in the 0-4 age category. There exists a continued need for research examining the mechanisms of safety provision in the home in low resource settings, especially concerning burn injury.

Language: en