Management of Childhood Burns and Fall-Related Injuries in the New Juaben Municipality of Ghana.

Abstract

The study explored how childhood burns and falls are managed in the New Juaben Municipality in the Eastern Region of Ghana. This was against the background that childhood burns and fall-related injuries are major public health concerns that manifest in frequent hospitalization, high treatment cost, long period of recovery, pain, scar and disabilities. To address these concerns, the study set out to determine the risk factors for these childhood mishaps, to explore the treatment practices and to determine parents’/caretakers’ preventive practices for childhood burns and falls with the aim of bridging the knowledge gap and to improve on management practices of such injuries. A cross-sectional descriptive design which employed both quantitative and qualitative methods of data collection was used for the study. Using the multi-stage sampling method as an overall sampling technique, the simple random sampling method was first used to select twelve out of the fifty-two communities in the New Juaben Municipality. The same simple random sampling method was employed at the second stage to select two enumeration areas from each community after which parents/caretakers were selected. A total of six hundred parents/caretakers of children from twenty-four enumeration areas in the municipality were selected for the community survey. Key informant interviews were also used to collect data to supplement information gathered from the survey. These sets of data were triangulated during the data analysis. The study revealed that parents/caretakers socio-economic backgrounds and the physical environment in which they live predispose children to burns and falls and that children living with parents/caretakers who are extremely poor (living below the daily minimum wage of GH¢ 5.24 per day as at July, 2013) were found to be 18.9 times more likely to be victims of burns compared to those who live above the daily minimum wage. Children living with parents who observe playground safety are 25 times more likely to prevent fall-related injuries as compared to children living with parents who do not observe playground safety. When home-based treatment practices for burns and fall-related injuries were explored, the most preferred treatment regimen was found to be first, traditional, followed by allopathic health care and then a blend of the two treatment regimens. Among the major reasons for the high utilization of traditional health practices are affordability, accessibility, availability of traditional medical services and the fact that diagnosis and treatment modes are related to the cultural beliefs of the people (acceptability). Three broad measures are adopted to prevent childhood burns but the most preferred measure is the practice of not leaving children alone at home. This practice was found to be 3.2 times more likely to prevent childhood burns compared to a practice where children are often left alone at home. It is recommended that the New Juaben Municipal Assembly should collaborate with the schools, families, religious groups, NGOs, and health institutions to educate parents and school age children on the significant risk factors to childhood burns and falls. In doing this, it is recommended that specific educational programmes targeting specific vulnerable groups, such as children in the different age cohorts and parents with different socio-economic status, should be promoted. Further research will be required to fill the gap created in the area of community and national initiatives that is aimed at preventing childhood burns and falls. This will compliment the current study in providing a holistic view on management practices for such injuries in Ghana.