Serious Non-Fatal Unintentional Injuries Among in-school Adolescents in Sri Lanka: Results from the 2016 Sri Lankan Global School-Based Health Survey

Abstract

Background Unintentional injuries among adolescents, is a major public health problem world over. A great majority of the annual deaths among adolescents are due to unintentional injuries, with this being the leading cause of death among them, throughout the world. The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence of injuries and their associated factors among school going adolescents of ages 13–17 using the data of the most recent Global School-Based Health Survey (GSHS) conducted in Sri Lanka. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 3,262 adolescents attending government schools, using a self-administered questionnaire. The sample was selected through a two-staged cluster sampling technique. In the first stage, 40 schools were selected from among all schools that have grades 8–12 in the country, using probability proportional to school enrollment size. Then, from the selected schools, classes were selected using systematic equal probability sampling with a random start. Weighted prevalence was calculated, and logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the correlates. Results During the 12 months before the survey, 35.8% (95% CI-30.7–41.1) of the students reported being seriously injured one or more times. The injuries were more common among males but was equally common among different age groups (13–15 age group vs 16–17 age group). The most common type of injury was cut or stab wound (5.5%), followed by broken bone/dislocated joint (5.3%). Multivariable analysis revealed that only few factors were associated with injury such as male sex, being bullied and being physically attacked or being in a physical fight Conclusion This study demonstrated that the prevalence of serious unintentional injuries among school going adolescents is a major public health problem in Sri Lanka. School-based interventions to address these issues should be designed with the goal of increasing adolescents’ awareness of possible preventive measures of unintentional injuries.