TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2009//
TI  - The use of hospital medical records for child injury surveillance in northern Malawi
JO  - Tropical doctor
A1  - Yu, Kwong Leung
A1  - Bong, Chin Nam
A1  - Huang, Meng Chuan
A1  - Chen, Chiao-Chicy
A1  - Ko, Ying-Chin
A1  - Chang, P. Y.
A1  - Chen, Tsai-Hwei
A1  - Chiang, Hung-Chi
SP  - 170
EP  - 172
VL  - 39
IS  - 3
N2  - Our study evaluates the usefulness and the limitations of using the medical records of a central referral hospital to develop a child injury surveillance system in northern Malawi. The most prevalent types of injury were falls (29.6%), road traffic injuries (22.0%), burns (21.4%) and poisoning (15.1%). Older children (aged 5-14 years), in the cool-dry season (May to August) and the hot-dry season (September to October), were significant predictors for total injury admissions. Our study indicated that hospital medical records are a valuable component of a child injury surveillance system and can illustrate the trends and patterns of moderate to severe injuries as well as suggest potential prevention strategies for local settings. Combined with a specially designed trauma registry form, it is possible for developing countries at local level to combat the emerging public health issues.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0049-4755
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1258/td.2009.080283
ID  - ref1
ER  -