title: Prevalence of preventable household risk factors for childhood burn injury in semi-urban Ghana: A population-based survey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Childhood burns are a leading cause of injury in low- and middle-income countries; most of which are preventable. We aimed to describe the prevalence of household risk factors for childhood burn injury (CBI) in semi-urban Ghana to inform prevention strategies for this growing population.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted a population-based survey of 200 households in a semi-urban community in Ghana. Households were randomly selected from a list of 6520 households with children aged <18 years. Caregivers were interviewed about CBI within the past 6 months and potentially modifiable household risk factors.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 6520 households, 3856 used charcoal for cooking (59%) and 3267 cooked indoors (50%). In 4544 households (70%), the stove/cooking surface was within reach of children under-five (i.e., <1m). Higher household wealth quintiles (OR 0.95; 95%CI 0.61-1.49) and increasing age (OR 0.82; 95%CI 0.68-0.99) were associated with lower odds of CBI. Living in uncompleted accommodation (OR 11.29; 95%CI 1.48-86.18 vs rented room) and cooking outside the house (OR 1.13; 95%CI 0.60-2.14 vs cooking indoors) were also predictive of CBI.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study identified a high prevalence of CBI risk factors in semi-urban households that may benefit from targeted community-based prevention initiatives.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, School of Medical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana; Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana. Electronic address: drgyedu@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gyedu
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, School of Medical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana; Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana; Department of Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Interdisciplinary Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
authors.forename: Barclay
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Stewart
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA; Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mock
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
authors.forename: Easmon
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Otupiri
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana.
authors.forename: Emmanuel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nakua
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, School of Medical Sciences, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana; Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Donkor
authors.affiliation: Harborview Injury Prevention & Research Center, Seattle, WA, USA; Departments of Pediatrics and Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Children's Hospital, Seattle, Wash, USA.
authors.forename: Beth E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Ebel
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D002056:Burns / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D002606:Charcoal; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003296:Cooking / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004522:Educational Status; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D005869:Ghana / Q000453:epidemiology; D006798:Housing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D015995:Prevalence; D012307:Risk Factors; D012923:Social Class; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*
chemical_list: D002606:Charcoal
keywords: Childhood burns; Ghana; Population-based survey; Semi-urban