CHILDHOOD ACCIDENTS IN AN URBAN-COMMUNITY IN KENYA

A retrospective study was conducted over a twenty-month period from Ma rch 1991 to October 1992. The purpose of the study was to determine th e types and causes of domestic accidents/injuries in the city of Nairo bi. A total of 9,648 case files were perused and out of this figure 52 % or 5009 records belonged to persons aged below 18 years. The male:fe male ratio was 1.6:1. Burns were Identified as the most prevalent type df injury (37%) followed by cuts/wounds (24.9%) and body swellings (4 .9%). The main causes of these accidents were: fire, falls inside and outside the house and cutting implements. These results are only an in dex to a problem that has been given little prominence in the field of public health.