Epidemiology of accidents in elders in Hamadan during 2009 to 2014

Abstract

Objective (s): This study was conducted to assess factors associated with injuries caused by accidents in the elderly referred to hospitals of Hamadan Province, Iran. Methods: This was a retrospective study. Data for all elderly patients referred to hospital emergency in Hamadan province during 2009 to 2014 were collected. Data extracted from injury registry software. Descriptive statistics was used to explore the data. Results: A total of 11954 patients were registered during the study period. 64.48% were male. The mean age of men was 70.5 ± 8.8 and the mean age of women was 71.1 ± 8.7 (P <0.001). Trend of occurring accident among elders during the study period was increasing. Traffic accidents (32.74%), fall (21.49%) and hit (20.49%) were the most accounted injury in both genders. Conclusion: the findings suggest elderly people are in danger of accidents. It seems that effective and regular training about injury prevention and providing a secure living environment for the elderly is necessary.

Keywords

• injury
• trauma
• elderly
• epidemiology
• hamadan