Ilorin Journal of Education, 18. Sept., 1995
AN INVESTIGATION ON THE TYPES, CAUSES AND RATES OF
CHILDHOOD INJURIES IN SOME LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS OF
OYO STATE, NIGERIA
Dr. (Mrs.) A. A. Jekayinfa
University of Ilorin, Nigeria.
ABSTRACT
This paper presented the result of a research carried out to investigate on
the types, causes and rate of occurrence of injuries among children in Ogbomoso
North and South, Surulere, Ogo Oluwa and Orire Local Governments areas of Oyo
State. Two hundred and thirty-nine (239) respondents (parents) were used. The
sample was randomly selected from the five local governments to include
teachers, business and ministry officials. Three hundred questionnaires were
administered out of which two hundred and thirty nine were correctly filled and
used for the study. Based on the information gathered from various literature, a 51
item questionnaire was developed by the researcher. Two research questions were
posed and answered by the study. Frequency counts and percentages were used in
analyzing the data. The findings of the research showed that among the various
types of injuries selected for the study. (Cuts) was the most prevalent among the
children in the study area. This was followed by insect bites, bruises, scratches,
scalds, head injuries, swallowing, dislocation and eye injuries. However, animal
bites, drowning poisoning and fracture were not prevalent among the children in
the area of study. The findings also indicated that many of the selected injuries
occurred frequently in boys than in girls except for head injuries. The causes of
these injuries ranged from those that happened in the home to those that happened
in the schools and on road. Recommendations were made on how to rectify the
occurrence of some of these injuries among children.
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 18. Sept., 1995
Introduction
Several factors have been identified by Maniciaux and Romer (1991) as the
cause of high death rate among children. Of all the various factors, injuries
sustained at the childhood stages have particularly being said to be
significant. The American Red Cross Society reported in 1977 that in
either natural or enemy caused disasters, a variety of injuries including cuts,
wounds from glasses, metal and debris caused a very high incidence of
death among youths. Other injuries listed by the American Red Cross are
fractures, bruises, pressure or crushing injuries, head injuries, internal and
external hemorrhage, burns from heat, fire, chemical and hot waters.
Hughes (1975) found that between 25% and 30% of all death
amongst the pre-school age group are as a result of injuries. He claimed
that more children under 14 years die or are permanently injured.
Most researchers, Whaleiy and Wongs (1982), Maddock and Brown,
(1981) claimed that most childhood injuries occur in the home. This, they
claimed may be as a result of parents carelessness, types of facilities owned
in the home, the immaturity of the house helps in the home and economic
level of parents to protect the child. Some other scholars, Rivara (1982)
and Langley, (1984) had asserted that sex is a strong determinant in the
types of injuries sustained by children. They claimed that boys and
temperamentally difficult children are prone to more injuries because they
are aggressive, comparatively impulsive and over-active.
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 18. Sept., 1995
The tremendous annual loss of human and economic resources due
to accidents and injuries has become one of the most important social
problems to plague the nation. Any condition that inflict more deaths,
personal injuries and destruction upon a nation than all wars in its history
must be accepted as a prime social problem.
Great attention has been paid to childhood injuries in recent times
particularly in developed nations.
In America and New Zealand for
example, people like Romer and Manicaux (1991) and Mohan, (1991) have
carried out a lot of researches on childhood injuries. Researchers like
Mitchell (1990) and Illingworth (1987) have stated that accident injuries
rank as a number four cause of death for the total population and they also
accounted for 25% to 30% of all deaths in the pre-school age group.
Walsey and Wongs (1980) and Graham, (1986) claimed that more children
between 1 – 14 years die every year as a result of injuries even in advanced
countries, Mohan et al (1991) stated that injuries have replaced infectious
diseases as the main cause of death in children and that one third of these
injuries occur in the home while a half (5) of them occur on the road.
Many authors (Hughes 1975), and Langley (1984) have claimed that
injury rates in boys are far higher than in girls. This they claimed is as a
result of the characteristics of the two sexes when specific types of injuries
are examined. Some causes of childhood injuries have been observed by
Illingworth (1987) and they include age, sex of the child, child’s
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 18. Sept., 1995
intelligence, effects of imitation of others, child stage of development,
ability to reach objects, climbing, child desire to learn and explore, and
above all, inability of the child to know from experience, the consequences
of what he is doing. Other cause of childhood injuries highlighted by
Illingwoth (1987) are hunger, fatigue, over activity, illness in the home,
change of environment and emotional deprivation.
Some other causes of injuries have been enumerated by Smith and
Goodman (1982) as including complication during birth, falls, motor
vehicle accidents and physical abuse. Mitchell, (1977) asserted that most
injuries in children are related to domestic life. Growth and development
have also been associated with some injuries. In the studies carried out by
Jordan and Valdeslzo, (1991) the analysis of the accidents that occur in
infancy and childhood shows that there are variations as the child grows
and develops.
From the foregoing, this study attempts at investigating the types,
causes and rates of occurrence of childhood injuries in five local
governments in Oyo State, Nigeria.
Statement of the Problem
Research evidences abound to support that injuries sustained by
children as a result of home accidents are second to motor vehicle injuries
and they cause more childhood death and also produce many disabling
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 18. Sept., 1995
consequences (Marcus, et al 1960) Nimnich, et al (1987), Lishman 1987,
Manciaux and Romar (1991). These researchers also observed that the
occurrence of injuries is not restricted to only one nation but it is global and
that there is no country where injuries do not feature among the five leading
causes of death in children.
All the above mentioned people carried out their researches in the
advanced countries. They have left other areas untouched like the types
and rates of occurrence of injuries among children in the developing
countries like Nigeria.
This research was therefore carried out to
investigate on the types, causes and rates of occurrence of childhood
injuries in five Local Government areas in Oyo State of Nigeria. The
research has addressed itself to answering the following questions:
1.
What are the types and rates of occurrence of childhood injuries in
Ogbomoso North and South, Surulere, Orire and Ogo-Oluwa Local
Governments of Oyo State?
2.
What are the causes of these injuries?
Methodology
This study was of a survey research type so as to be able to describe
the area of interest factually and accurately.
Since the research was
interested in seeking the opinions and reports of the respondents on the
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 18. Sept., 1995
topic, the survey research method is useful as suggested by Borg and Gall
(1972), Kerlinger (1973) and Best (1981).
As it was not possible to sample the opinions of all parents in the
five local government areas selected for this study, the researcher made use
of two hundred and thirty nine (239) parents who were grouped into three
occupational levels as follows:
1.
Teaching
2.
Business
3.
Ministry officials
A researcher-made instrument in form of questionnaire titled Causes, Types and
Rates of Occurrence of Childhood Injury Questionnaire (‘CTROCIQ’) was
used. The questionnaire consisted of some sixteen (16) types of injuries
and respondents were requested to tick the rate of their occurrence in
children. Also some thirty-five (35) causes of injuries both generally, in
school and at home, were listed for respondents to indicate the level of their
agreement or disagreement.
Frequency counts and percentages were used to analyse the data on the types and
rate of occurrence of childhood injuries as well as the causes of injuries as
reported by the respondents.
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 18. Sept., 1995
Findings
The findings of this research were presented using tables. Table 1 gives the
distribution of parents response by the sex of children they were responding to
Table 1:
Distribution of Parents’ Response by Sex of Children
Sex of the
Frequency
Percentage
Male
138
57.7
Female
101
42.3
Total
239
100
Child
The first research question asked about the types and rate of occurrence of
childhood injuries in Ogbomoso North, South, Surulere, Ogo-Oluwa and Orire
Local Government Areas. This was answered using frequency counts and
percentages of parents’ responses to the types of childhood injuries listed.
From the analysis on table 2, it was shown that of all the sixteen types of
injuries listed, cuts was the most prevalent as reported by parents. Almost all the
parents responded that cuts occurred in their children though, the rate of
occurrence differ according to the sex of children. This was followed by insect
bites, bruises and scratches.
The analysis however indicated that drowning,
suffocation, poisoning, animal bites and choking seldom occur in children as many
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 18. Sept., 1995
parents indicated that these categories of injuries never occurred at al in their
children.
The second research question asked about the causes of these injuries. This
question was answered by analyzing the responses of the parents to the thirty-five
(35) causes of injuries classified under three broad causes listed in the
questionnaire where parents were requested to indicate whether they agree or
disagree. The analysis was presented on table 3.
Table 3
Classified Causes of Childhood Injuries
Causes
Responses
Agree %
Disagree
General causes
36.1
26.7
Home
35.4
27.2
27.5
46.1
100
100
Related
causes
School
related
causes
From the analysis on table 3, it is clearly shown that most childhood
injuries occurred in the home, followed by the general injuries which may
be caused either when children are climbing fruit trees, carelessly crossing
the road, eating unripe fruits or playing on the streets. It is also shown from
the table that few injuries are sustained by children at school.
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 18. Sept., 1995
Discussion and Recommendations
The outcome of this research has indicated that cuts, bruises and
scratches were the most prevalent injuries amongst children in the study
area. This is in agreement with the report of findings of early researchers
like the American Red Cross in 1977 who reported that a variety of injuries
including cuts, wounds, fractures, bruises caused a very high incidence of
death among youths. Similarly, Hughs (1975) found that of all death in
pre-school age group, between 25% and 30% are as a result of injury.
The result of the investigation clearly pointed out that most
childhood injuries occur in the home. This finding is in consonance with
the findings of Whaley and Wongs (1982), and Meddock and Brown
(1981). Injuries may be sustained in the home as a result of many causes
among which are poor kitchen arrangements, poor electric appliances,
insufficient space for children to play.
Carelessness of parents when
cooking, abdication of children care to immatured house helps and the like.
It was discovered that some children may sustain injuries due to
hawking on the streets, trekking long distance to the school, eating unripe
fruits, carelessly crossing the street and some other general causes which
are neither related to the home nor the school. Few injuries, according to
the responses of parents do occur to the children in the school.
From the fore-going discussion, parents are hereby advised to take
proper care of their children at home.
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Mothers especially, should not
Ilorin Journal of Education, 18. Sept., 1995
abdicate their responsibility of child caring to the house-helps. Care should
be taken when cooking in the home to prevent the out-break of fire through
explosion of gas cookers and faulty electrical appliances. Balanced diets
should be given to children to avoid injuries associated with lack of
nutritional control.
On the part of the school, the government is hereby called upon to
provide a conducive learning atmosphere for the students both inside and
outside the classroom. Over crowded classrooms should be avoided at all
cost, teachers should establish a good relationship between themselves and
the students. Proper guidance should be given to the students by their
teachers. It is believed that if all the aforementioned recommendations are
adhered to, the occurrence of injuries will be drastically reduced on the
children.
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 18. Sept., 1995
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Ilorin Journal of Education, 18. Sept., 1995
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