Global childhood unintentional injury surveillance in four cities in developing countries: a pilot study

OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency and nature of childhood injuries and to explore the risk factors for such injuries in low-income countries by using emergency department (ED) surveillance data. METHODS: This pilot study represents the initial phase of a multi-country global childhood unintentional injury surveillance (GCUIS) project and was based on a sequential sample of children < 11 years of age of either gender who presented to selected EDs in Bangladesh, Colombia, Egypt and Pakistan over a 3-4 month period, which varied for each site, in 2007. FINDINGS: Of 1559 injured children across all sites, 1010 (65%) were male; 941 (60%) were aged >or= 5 years, 32 (2%) were < 1 year old. Injuries were especially frequent (34%) during the…