[Accidents in preschool children in the Boblingen district--accident causes and risk groups]

The characteristics of childhood accidents including their socio-demographic distribution were analysed using a cross-sectional design. In December 1999, questionnaires were sent to 50 kindergartens in the 'Landkreis Böblingen' (Southern Germany). 2,963 children went to these kindergartens, and the parents of the children were asked to fill in the questionnaire which was then analysed anonymously by the local health authority of Böblingen. The parents of 1,866 children sent back the questionnaire; the response rate was 72.0% for children with German nationality and 31.6% for the other children. On the average the parents reported 26 'accidents leading to a physician contact' per 100 child-life-years. Four indicators were used for characterising the socio-economic status of the parents (per capita income, occupational status of the father, school education of the mother, summary index), and three groups (low, medium and high socio-economic status) were constructed with each including about 1/3 of the children. Children from the low status group had about 13% fewer accidents than children from the high status group; for severe accidents, however, a contrary association was found (OR of the low as compared with the high status group: 4.1; Conf. Inter.: 1.12-14.96). The children with another nationality than German had severe accidents more often than German children (OR: 4.63; Conf. Inter.: 2.24-9.52). Boys had 33% more accidents than girls. About 3/4 of all accidents took place at home or in its direct environment. Concerning the age distribution, a peak was seen at age 2. The following accidents occurred particularly often: falling from stairs (10.2% of the accidents), falling from a playground equipment (9.5%), falling from a bicycle (8.9%), falling from a high bed (6.0%), stabs or cuts (4.9%), burns or scalds (4.4%), falling from a high chair (3.9%), falling from a nursery table (3.2%). The results are used by a regional working group which is asked to develop a strategy aimed at reducing accidents of pre-school children in the 'Landkreis Böblingen' until 2006 by 10%.