THE CHARACTERISTICS AND OUTCOMES FOR PATIENTS PRESENTING WITH UNINTENTIONAL DOMESTIC INJURIES TO GENERAL-PRACTICE

Aim. To describe domestic unintentional injuries in three large, compu terised general practices in the Wellington area. Method. Details of a ll domestic injuries were recorded from Accident Compensation Corporat ion (ACC) forms. Results. Initial consultations for domestic unintenti onal injuries counted for 29.4% of all injuries for which ACC forms we re completed and represented 1.2% of all patient contacts. The very yo ung and elderly presented more frequently with domestic unintentional injuries. The types of injury and the injury incident varied between a ge groups. Most (75%) of the injured patients were treated by the prac tices without referral. Conclusion. Most (96%) of the patients who pre sented with domestic unintentional injuries were registered patients o f the practices. This relationship provides an important opportunity f or general practitioners to advise patients about accident prevention. More research is needed to compare the presentation of domestic unint entional injuries in general practice and in hospitals with accidents in the community.