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Disability, home physical environment and non-fatal injuries among young children in China
Hui-ping Zhu1, Xin Xia, Hui-yun Xiang
1Department of Maternal and Child Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China.
Insights
Children with disabilities face a higher risk of medically attended injuries, particularly at home. Pet ownership, specifically dogs or cats, is associated with increased injury risk in both disabled and non-disabled children.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Pediatrics
- Disability Studies
Background:
- Children with disabilities experience unique health challenges.
- Understanding injury patterns and environmental risk factors is crucial for child safety.
- The biopsychosocial model provides a framework for analyzing health and disability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare medically attended injury patterns in children with and without disabilities.
- To investigate residential environmental risk factors associated with injuries in children.
- To apply the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF) framework.
Main Methods:
- A 1:1 matched case-control study involving 1201 children with disabilities and 1201 healthy controls (aged 1-14).
- Data collected on injury characteristics over the past 12 months.
- Logistic regression analysis examined associations between disability, home environment, and injuries, controlling for sociodemographic factors.
Main Results:
- Children with disabilities had a significantly higher injury prevalence (10.2% vs. 4.4%).
- Falls were the leading injury mechanism; most injuries occurred at home during leisure activities.
- Having pets (dogs/cats) increased injury likelihood by 76% in disabled children and over threefold in non-disabled children.
Conclusions:
- Children with disabilities have a significantly elevated risk of injury.
- Preventing residential injuries is a critical public health priority for children with disabilities.
Objectives:
We compared the patterns of medically attended injuries between children with and without disabilities and explored the residential environment risks in five counties of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China by a 1:1 matched case-control study based on the biopsychosocial model of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health--ICF.
Methods:
1201 children aged 1-14 with disabilities and 1201 their healthy counterparts matched as having the same gender, same age, and lived in the same neighborhood were recruited in our study. Characteristics of injuries in the past 12 months were compared between children with and without disabilities. The associations among disability status, home environment factors and injuries were examined in logistic regression analysis taking into account sociodemographic factors.
Results:
Children with disabilities had a significantly higher prevalence of injury than children without disabilities (10.2% vs. 4.4%; P<.001). The two groups differed significantly in terms of number of injury episodes, injury place and activity at time of injury. Falls were the leading mechanism of injury regardless of disability status. Most of the injury events happened inside the home and leisure activities were the most reported activity when injured for both groups. The univariate OR for injury was 4.46 (2.57-7.74) for the disabled children compared with the non-disabled children. Disabled children whose family raised cat/dog(s) were 76% more likely to be injured during the last 12 months (OR = 1.76; 95% CI = 1.02, 3.02), comparing with those whose family did not have any cat/dog. And for children without disabilities, those whose family had cat/dog(s) were over 3 times more likely to having injuries comparing with those whose family did not have any cat/dog.
Conclusions:
Children with disabilities had a significantly increased risk for injury. Interventions to prevent residential injury are an important public health priority in children with disabilities.
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