Cause and incidence of injuries experienced by children in remote Cape York Indigenous communities

West, Caryn, Fitts, Michelle S., Rouen, Chris, Muller, Reinhold, and Clough, Alan R. (2019) Cause and incidence of injuries experienced by children in remote Cape York Indigenous communities. Australian Journal of Primary Health, 25 (2). pp. 157-162.

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Abstract

Indigenous children experience a disproportionally high number of injuries, particularly in remote communities. This study aimed to investigate: (1) the causes of injury to children within three remote Indigenous communities of Cape York, Australia; (2) differences between communities; and (3) if strengthening of alcohol restrictions reduced the incidence of injury. An injury profile for children aged 0–14 years was constructed for the period 1 January 2006 to 31 December 2011 using clinical file audit data from Primary Health Care Clinics located in each community. Children aged <14 years were responsible for 1461 injury presentations among 563 individuals. Males were responsible for 58.7% of presentations and 38% (n = 214) of children presented on three or more occasions. The leading causes of injury were falls (including sports); cutting and piercing; animals, insects and plants; transport and assault. There were variations in the order of major injury causes across the three communities. As primary causes of injury, falls and transport-related injuries aligned with other child populations. Cutting and piercing; animals, insects and plants; and assault-related injuries were more prevalent compared with other child populations. There was a significant difference in injury rates between communities and no significant difference before and after the strengthening of alcohol restrictions.

Item ID: 57668
Item Type: Article (Research - C1)
ISSN: 1836-7399
Copyright Information: Copyright CSIRO.
Funders: National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia (NHMRC)
Projects and Grants: NHMRC ECR grant #1070931, NHMRC APP1046773
Date Deposited: 27 Mar 2019 02:17
FoR Codes: 42 HEALTH SCIENCES > 4205 Nursing > 420599 Nursing not elsewhere classified @ 50%
45 INDIGENOUS STUDIES > 4504 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing > 450418 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander remote health @ 50%
SEO Codes: 92 HEALTH > 9203 Indigenous Health > 920399 Indigenous Health not elsewhere classified @ 100%
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