Background: Domestic accidents are global health issues. Most of the accident-related researches are focused on road traffic accidents and urban populations. Domestic accidents have not been identified till date to the similar manner as traffic and work-related injuries, mostly because they have not been efficiently calculated. Few studies are available regarding domestic accidents in India, and there are very few studies done in rural India.
Objective: To assess the prevalence of domestic accidents and the factors influencing it in a rural community in Salem district.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was done on 960 subjects by using simple random sampling technique. The study was conducted at Attayampatti, the rural field practice area of our medical college, from January to December 2014. Information regarding domestic accidents was gathered by interviewing using a structured questionnaire.
Result: A total of 125 domestic accidents were found in our study, with the prevalence of 13%. About 50.4% of domestic accidents were owing to falls, 82 accidents were seen in female subjects, 41% of accidents were seen in children younger than 5 years and adults older than 60 years. A total of 217 subjects with accidents were illiterates. About 49.7% of accidents took place in the courtyard, 56.8% of accidents took place while playing or doing domestic work, and 39.2% of accidents took place in the afternoon. Domestic accidents are more common in extreme age groups and in female subjects. The reasons may be the higher amount of time spent at home and greater participation in daily home activities. Falls being the most frequent type of accidents, proper designing of house and adequate illumination may help in reducing their occurrence.
Conclusion: To prevent and control the domestic accidents, promotion of household safety measures and creation of awareness among the community using information, education and communication (IEC) interventions have to be undertaken.
Key words: Prevalence, domestic accidents, rural area
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