Injury Profile of Children 0-14 Years Old in Honduras

At the University Medical School Hospital in Honduras, a paper-based injury surveillance system (InSS) registered all injury cases in the emergency department in 2013. This is the first study to identify the injury profiles of children in Honduras, using the InSS data.

A case-series study was carried out using the InSS. Children aged 0-14 years were identified in the data set, and the descriptive statistics and bivariate analyzes were completed using this data.

Of 17,971 study patients, 5,873 (32.7%) patients were 0-14 years old with an average age of 7.3 ± 4.1 years. Unintentional injuries, most commonly road traffic incidents, falls, and blunt force trauma, constituted 94.2% of the total injuries. In all, 1.9% (109) self-inflicted injuries and 3.9% (230) deliberate interpersonal injuries with 35.8% due to blunt force trauma and 22.6% due to gunshot wounds. The mortality rate was 0.2%, and 84% of children spent 3 or fewer days in the hospital. Firearm injuries were more severe and resulted in a longer hospital stay.

Childhood injuries are highly prevalent and a public concern throughout Honduras. This study profiles these injuries of over an entire year and provides insight into the types of interventions that could be effective in preventing and managing the high burden of pediatric injuries in this region.

This study provides the groundwork to profiling the high burden of injuries in Honduran children. Targeted injury prevention strategies and interventions can begin to be developed and implemented using the profile.