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Abstract
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INTRODUCTION: Accidents and violence are important causes of hospital admissions and mortality in the municipality of Alta Floresta, especially among young people. However, in terms of outpatient services, the magnitude of this problem is not known.
OBJECTIVE: To present the characterization of the victims of accidents and violence attended to by the emergency services in the municipality of Alta Floresta.
METHODology: Descriptive study into the occurrence of emergencies resulting from accidents orviolence, for a three-month period in 2006, by means of specific report forms for accidents and violence.
RESULTS: Out of 7,394 outpatients in the period, 583 (7.9%) were victims of accidents and violence; most of them male; between 20 and 39 years of age; white; and, with less than eight years of formal education. Accidents were predominant: 239 (41.0%) road accidents, most of them by motorcycle (64.9%); 153 falls (26.2%) and 167 (28.7%) others. Regarding violence, 16 (2.7%) were assaults and 8 (1.4%) suicide attempts. The suspicion of alcohol use was registered in 12% of accidents and violence victims, but this proportion was higher among assault victims (91.7%). An important relation was observed between other accidents and the "work" category.
CONCLUSION: Adequate knowledge about the characteristics of victims of accidents and violence is essential to identify the effective measures to reduce such injuries.
Language: pt |