Patterns of injuries and motor-vehicle traffic accidents in Athens

The extremely high cost of motor-vehicle accidents in public health leads to the necessity of a better injury data collection in the Accident and Emergency Hospital Departments. The ‘Asclepeion’ of Voula Hospital covers the southeastern suburban areas of the greater Athens area (1 000 000 population). The aim of this study is to present information on the pattern of injuries in Athens, in order to understand the magnitude of the problem and develop rational prevention programmes. Specially trained health visitors of the Emergency Department Injury Surveillance System (EDISS) interviewed in person every injured victim who was brought into the Emergency Service of the ‘Asclepeion’ of Voula Hospital. The study was performed during a 3-year period, from 1996 to 1998; 4564 persons were interviewed. Traffic accidents were more frequent on weekdays with a seasonal peak in July and among young Greeks (aged 25 – 34 years). The usual type of injuries seen in vehicle-accident victims were cerebral contusion and concussion, while in motorcycle-accident victims, head contusion and fractures. The most common reasons for the accident were excessive speed, poor condition of road, inattention, abstraction or drowsiness and drug effects. A total of 29.8% of motorcycle drivers and 5.7% of motorcycle passengers wore a helmet and 26.3% of car drivers and 14.1% of car passengers were using seatbelts. The identification of road traffic injury patterns can contribute to the development of injury prevention measures and guide rational preventive interventions that can reduce the incidence of these injuries. The EDISS system established at ‘Asclepeion’ of Voula Emergency Service can provide useful and accurate information about this serious and multidimensional problem of Greek Public Health.     

The pattern and predictors of intentionally inflicted injuries on Greek adults; data from an Emergency Injury Surveillance System (EDISS)

Background Intentional injuries due to violence are both a social and a public health problem in most societies. This study assesses the patterns and some of the sociodemographic determinants of violence-related injuries among Greek adults. Methods Data recorded by the Emergency Department Injury Surveillance System (EDISS) during the two-year period 1996-1997 were used. This database relies on all age injury data collected in the emergency departments of three sentinel hospitals, covering both urban and rural population areas. Results Among 52026 recorded injuries, 1322 (3%) were violence related, excluding self-inflicted injuries, while the majority of injuries (28269) were attributed to home and leisure accidents. Weapons of any type were used only in 5% of violence-related injuries. In comparison to home and leisure injuries, the intentionally inflicted injuries occurred more frequently among men, among those 25-54 years old, and were particularly common among migrants and during late night and early morning hours. Violence-related injuries frequently occur in pubs, restaurants, cafeterias and other places of entertainment. However, 52% of violence-related injuries among women occurred at home. Intentional injuries were generally more severe than unintentional ones. Conclusions We conclude that violence is not a negligible public health problem in the Greek population, but is considerably less serious than in most other developed countries. In particular, firearms-related injuries represent a very small fraction of the generally low incidence of violence-related injuries in this Mediterranean country.     

普通高校排球运动员运动损伤及预防

排球运动是一项技术性非常强的隔网对抗类运动,运动损伤不可避免地存在于排球训练和比赛过程中.常见的排球运动损伤有膝关节损伤、踝关节损伤、肘关节损伤等.加强有关高校排球运动损伤成因及预防对策的研究,对于提升高校排球训练的效果,促进运动员排球技能的提高有重要意义.结合高校排球训练、比赛的实际,以排球运动损伤为研究对象,进行深入分析与探究,以期为高校排球运动的有效开展提供参考.     

Who gets injured at home? Evidence from older people in France

The study analyses unintentional home and leisure injuries (HLIs) for the French senior population using data from the 2012 wave of the French health, health care and insurance survey. The results of our logit models reveal that health status, age, and risky attitudes are the main characteristics associated with HLIs for older people. When the severity of injuries is taken into consideration, the highest exposure to HLIs concerns the oldest seniors, aged 85 years old or older, with deteriorated health. This result is confirmed in the case of severe indoor HLIs, whereas for severe outdoor injuries, the most vulnerable individuals seem to be younger seniors, that is, 75–79 years old. Moreover, our findings suggest that HLIs, and mainly severe home HLIs, generate a short-term influence on a person's health.