Disability, home physical environment and non-fatal injuries among young children in China.

Abstract

ObjectivesWe compared the patterns of medically attended injuries between children with and without disabilities and explored the residential environment risks in five counties of Hubei Province in the People's Republic of China by a 1:1 matched case-control study based on the biopsychosocial model of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health--ICF.Methods1201 children aged 1-14 with disabilities and 1201 their healthy counterparts matched as having the same gender, same age, and lived in the same neighborhood were recruited in our study. Characteristics of injuries in the past 12 months were compared between children with and without disabilities. The associations among disability status, home environment factors and injuries were examined in logistic regression analysis taking into account sociodemographic factors.ResultsChildren with disabilities had a significantly higher prevalence of injury than children without disabilities (10.2% vs. 4.4%; PConclusionsChildren with disabilities had a significantly increased risk for injury. Interventions to prevent residential injury are an important public health priority in children with disabilities.