# Injuries Among Pediatric Age Group Children Attending the Emergency Department of Maternity and Children Hospital, Buraidah City

## TL;DR

This study examines injuries in children under 14 visiting a hospital's emergency department, finding most injuries occur at home and many parents lack basic life support knowledge.

## Contribution

The study provides insights into the prevalence and risk factors of pediatric injuries in Buraidah City, emphasizing the need for BLS training and awareness.

## Key findings

- 76.5% of injuries occurred at home, with most children recovering.
- Over 80% of parents were unaware of basic life support.
- Burns were more common in children under five years old.

## Abstract

Background

Pediatric age group injuries is one of the burdens on a nation’s GDP and parents’ income and productivity. Multiple factors cause such injuries, and some of them can be prevented by simple care from the parents and their knowledge and practice at the time of injury. This study aims to determine the prevalence of injuries and associations between demographic factors and other risk factors with the type of injuries and severity of injuries.

Methodology

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 391 parents of the pediatric age group children (0-14 years) at the Maternity and Children Hospital’s emergency department using a validated questionnaire, a combination of interviews, and a self-administered questionnaire. Informed consent was obtained from each parent participant. Data were entered and analyzed using SPSS software version 21.0 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA).

Results

The average age of injured children was five years with a standard deviation of 3.13 years, and 64.5% (n = 252) were males. About 76.5% (n = 299) of injuries occurred at home and 14.1% (n=55) required hospital admission. Around 91.3% (n = 357) of children recovered, while 8.4% (n = 33) received alternative care. Approximately 81.3% (n = 318) of parents were unaware of basic life support (BLS). Among the children, 9.4% (n = 25) of those under five years had burns compared to 3.2% (n = 4) of those over five years, with a statistically significant association between age and burns (p < 0.05).

Conclusions

Based on the study findings, three-fourths of pediatric injuries occurred at home, of which more than 90% of injuries recovered. Still, in one-tenth of injuries, parents opted for alternative care, and more than 80% were unaware of BLS. This study recommends that health administrators and policymakers create awareness regarding BLS training for the general population along with the importance of alternative care in injuries.