Journal of Acute Disease (Jan 2020)

An epidemiological report on the burden and trend of injuries in the Philippines from 2011 to 2018

  • Imee T Macaranas,
  • Kin Israel R Notarte,
  • Abbygail Therese M Ver,
  • Adriel M Pastrana,
  • Franchesca J Chua,
  • Derick Erl P Sumalapao

DOI
https://doi.org/10.4103/2221-6189.291284
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 9, no. 5
pp. 200 – 205

Abstract

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Objective: To describe the epidemiological distribution of injury cases in the Philippines from 2011 to 2018. Methods: A retrospective review of records from the Online National Electronic Injury Surveillance System involving trauma cases was done, and data were collated, tabulated, and statistically analyzed. Results: A total of 668 179 injury cases were recorded, and 68.99% of these cases involved males. Vulnerable individuals belonged to the group aged 15-29 years (34.01%). The most populated regions in the country, the National Capital Region (14.90%) and Region IVA (13.96%), incurred the highest number of recorded cases. Traffic crash (32.67%) was reported to be the major cause of injury; and open wounds (37.56%) and abrasion (26.23%) were found to be the most common types of injury. Conclusions: The burden of injury remains high in the Philippines due to the lack of resources and inadequate healthcare. The findings of the present study on the distribution of injury cases provide useful information for taking appropriate preventive measures, developing effective safety guidelines, allocating limited resources in an appropriate manner, and implementing necessary public health programs.

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