Injuries among preschool children enrolled in day-care centers.
In this study, 423 injury incidents among preschool children enrolled in day-care centers reported to the Los Angeles Unified School District during the 2-year period 1983 to 1984 are reviewed. The relative risk of sustaining an injury between boys and girls was 1.5:1. Among sex and age groups, younger boys (2 to 3 years of age) showed the highest injury rate and older girls (4 to 5 years of age) showed the lowest. The overall incidence was 19.7 injuries per 1,000 child-years. The majority of the injuries were minor in severity, and medical attention was recommended in only 12.8% of the injuries. The highest incidence occurred during the late morning period (9 AM to 12 noon). A consumer product was involved in 53.7% of the incidents. Three of four injuries were considered preventable by training and/or education or by the Haddon injury reduction strategies. Additional prospective studies are needed to develop and implement preventive measures.
Division of Population, School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles 90024.
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D000056:Accident Prevention; D000059:Accidents / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D002656:Child Day Care Centers; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles; D008297:Male; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012621:Seasons; D013997:Time Factors; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000145:classification / Q000453:epidemiology*