TY  - JOUR
PY  - 1995//
TI  - Prevalence and age-specific incidence of burns in Ghanaian children
JO  - Journal of tropical pediatrics
A1  - Forjuoh, Samuel N.
A1  - Keyl, P. M.
A1  - Diener-West, M.
A1  - Smith, Gordon C. S.
A1  - Guyer, B.
SP  - 273
EP  - 277
VL  - 41
IS  - 5
N2  - The incidence of burns in developing countries is not precisely known due to unavailability or incompleteness of death registration and disease reporting. In this study, we determined prevalence and age-specific incidence of burns in children 0-5 years in the Ashanti region of Ghana using burn scars as proxy. We used a community-based, multi-site survey to identify children who had scars as evidence of previous burns. A scar prevalence of 6 per cent was found. No sex differences were found. However, significant differences were found among age groups, with children aged 18-23 months having the highest incidence (57.4 per 1000 person-years). There was evidence of focal occurrence of childhood burns in certain districts, and a higher prevalence in rural areas. We conclude that childhood burns are a significant health problem in Ghana, especially among rural residents and the very young, and recommend that interventions be developed to control them.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 0142-6338
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/
ID  - ref1
ER  -