Home and leisure accidents among children and young people up to 19 years old as an event observed in the EU-IDB surveillance system: 2012-2021 data

Abstract Paediatric injuries are widely acknowledged as a major public health issue among different medical disciplines. In the context of injuries and accidents, the surrounding environment of children and young people remains a major health concern. The present study was developed to extend current knowledge on the characteristics and magnitude of home and leisure accidents in this population. A descriptive, observational, cross-sectional study was developed under the EU-IDB (European Injury Database) collaborative network comprising up to 25 European countries and ten years of data collection (2012 to 2021). The methodology of the EU-IDB is a well consolidated standard for collecting injury data in Emergency departments, in compliance with the Eurostat methodological requirements for European health statistics. During the ten years of data collection in emergency departments, through EU-IDB surveillance 3 603 975 episodes of home and leisure accidents (HLA) were recorded at European level, involving people aged 0-19 years, constituting 34.5 % of hospital ED attendances due to HLA. Children and young people between 10 and 14 years old represented the major age group proportion of HLA(33.0%), the proportion of HLA increased across age groups until fourteen years old, being these differences statistically significant(p < 0,001). Falls were the most common cause of injuries among all age-groups, in the youngest group up to 4-years(54.4%), the 5-9years old (52.2%), the 10-14years old (46.1%) and in the oldest group between 15-19 years(37.5%), representing 47.2% of the total HLA mechanism. As regards to the treatment/follow-up, the vast majority of the HLA episodes were not admitted to hospital (92.9%). Hospital ED Injury data represent very useful information on the health burden of non-fatal injuries in this population of interest. These data could be used for the design of injury prevention policies and regulations for accidents that occur at home, school and outdoor spaces.