Risk factors of unintentional injury among children in New Zealand: a systematic review

Abstract

Objective: To identify contemporary studies investigating multifaceted and inter‐linked contributory frameworks for unintentional injuries among children in New Zealand. Methods: A literature review was performed in seven databases. Studies published in English up to February 2020 reporting risk factors for child injury in New Zealand were included. Eligible study designs included: cohort, case‐control and case‐crossover studies. The quality of studies was assessed using the GATE frame tool. The PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and MetaAnalyses) reporting guidelines were followed. Results: Thirteen studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria, dating from 1977 to 2008. The factors associated with child injury (0 to 14 years) included socioeconomic disadvantage, number of children, younger maternal age and sole parents. Vehicle speed and traffic volume were associated with an increased risk of driveway‐related pedestrian injury. Conclusion: The review findings have reinforced the need for cross‐agency action to address the social determinants of child injury. Implications for public health: Contemporary longitudinal studies are needed to assist in understanding how the interactions between children, family and their wider societal context affect their risk of experiencing injury over time.

Unintentional injuries of children and adolescents treated in emergency medical services: A cross-sectional study

“…They are mainly defined by children's individual factors such as age, sex, psychological factors and behavioural factors, then by social and financial factors of the family, but also by other factors in the child's social environment. 26 Evaluating the risk factors, a significant correlation between age and unintentional injuries was found and the occurrence of unintentional injuries increased with the children's age, which is in accordance with previous studies. 25,26 First, according to authors' knowledge this is the first study in the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina that examined the characteristics of unintentional injuries in children and adolescents treated in EMS.…”

“…26 Evaluating the risk factors, a significant correlation between age and unintentional injuries was found and the occurrence of unintentional injuries increased with the children's age, which is in accordance with previous studies. 25,26 First, according to authors' knowledge this is the first study in the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina that examined the characteristics of unintentional injuries in children and adolescents treated in EMS. Second, the major strength were and the robust sample size.…”

Determination of risk factors associated with unintentional injury in children: Case‐control study

“…The study revealed no statistically significant difference between the sociodemographic characteristics of the case and control group. Studies have shown that poor socioeconomic status, number of children, young mother age, and being a single parent are associated with unintentional injuries (Ghebreab et al., 2021; Moshiro et al., 2021). This may be due to the characteristics of the sample and regional/cultural differences.…”

“…Despite the studies (Campbell et al., 2019; Henery et al., 2021; Shi et al., 2015) and prevention efforts, injuries continue to affect children, and mortality and morbidity rates are high. In addition, there are a limited number of case‐control studies (Ghebreab et al., 2021; Zhang et al., 2021) conducted to determine the risk factors and maternal attitudes associated with unintentional injuries in children. This study may contribute to a better understanding of the risk factors associated with unintentional injuries in children and to take precautions against them.…”

Prospective longitudinal study investigating predictors of childhood injuries from Growing Up in New Zealand cohort: study protocol

“…There have been numerous descriptive reports and studies in NZ using conventional epidemiological methods to investigate risk factors for unintentional childhood injury 9 16–18. These studies have predominantly focused on short-term, single or a few exposures despite the likely complex, multifaceted and interlinked contributory frameworks to childhood injury 19 20. These studies have highlighted several important modifiable risk factors.…”