The Epidemiological Pattern of Childhood Injuries and Accidents among Iranian Children: A Systematic Review

Background: Injuries caused by accidents are the primary causes of disability, permanent deformities, and death in children. This study aimed to determine the epidemiological pattern of childhood accidents and injuries and their related factors among Iranian children. Materials and Methods: In this systematic review, a systemic search of online databases (Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CIVILICA, SID, Magiran, and Google Scholar search engine) was conducted for related studies with no time limit up to June ۲۰۲۲, using the related Mesh keywords. Two reviewers evaluated the quality of eligible studies and carried out the selection procedure. Results: Nine studies (from ۲۰۰۵ to June ۲۰۲۲) with an overall sample size of ۲۰,۵۹۱ were selected. Of the total accidents, ۷۰% occurred at home. The highest incidence of accidents among children was between ۱۶% and ۴۰%, and the mean age of accident victims was ۲.۵±۱.۵ years, with the highest in boys (۵۹.۴%). The most frequent causes of accidents were traffic accidents (۵۳.۴%), followed by physical injury (۵۰.۷%), falling (۴۴.۳%), and swallowing (۲۲%). Also, ۹۳.۳% of accidents occurred in urban areas. There was a significant relationship between gender, age, type of house, place of accident, parental higher education, season, and injury types (p< ۰.۰۵). Conclusion: The results showed that ۷۰% of accidents for children happened at home. The most frequent accident was traffic accidents, followed by physical injury, falling, and swallowing. It appears that almost all home accidents can be prevented by education. Therefore, developing educational and preventive policies is essential to achieve better standards of road transportation and reduce home accidents and injuries in Iran.

Keywords:

Accident , children , Iran , Injury , pattern