Epidemiological aspects of domestic accidents involving children in the wilaya of Sétif: between underreporting and the need for data.

Le résumé fourni par la source

Domestic accidents in children constitute a major public health concern that is often underestimated despite their significant impact on pediatric morbidity and mortality.To better characterize this issue in the Algerian context, a retrospective descriptive study was conducted in the wilaya of Sétif over a five-year period (2015-2019), including children under 15 years of age managed in hospital settings.The findings indicate that domestic accidents accounted for 3.3% of all pediatric hospital consultations during the study period.A male predominance was observed (58% of cases), likely reflecting higher exposure to risk-taking behaviors among boys.Children aged 0 to 4 years were the most affected group, representing 50.5% of cases, underscoring the heightened vulnerability of this age category due to limited motor skills and an immature perception of danger.Falls were identified as the leading cause of injury, followed by injuries related to sharp objects and burns.Mechanical trauma was the most frequently reported type of injury.In addition, the study highlighted a major deficiency in the health information system, as no exploitable data were available beyond 2020, suggesting a disruption in reporting processes and epidemiological data collection.These results emphasize that the vast majority of domestic accidents are preventable and highlight the urgent need to strengthen epidemiological surveillance, ensure systematic case reporting, and implement prevention strategies tailored to local contexts.

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