The epidemiology of non-fatal injuries among 11-, 13- and 15-year old youth in 11 countries: findings from the 1998 WHO-HBSC cross national survey

The primary objective was to present a cross-country comparison of injury rates, contexts and consequences. The research design was the analysis of data from the 1998 cross-national Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey and 52955 schoolchildren from 11 countries, aged 11, 13 and 15 years, completed a self-administrated questionnaire. A total of 41.3% of all children were injured and needed medical treatment in the past 12 months. Injury rates among boys were higher than among girls, 13.3% reported activity loss due to injury and 6.9% reported severe injury consequences. Most injuries occurred at home and at a sport facility, mainly during sport activity. Fighting accounted for 4.1% of injuries. This paper presents the first cross-national comparison of injury rates and patterns by external cause and context. Findings present cross-country similarities in injury distribution by setting and activity. These findings emphasize the importance of the development of global prevention programmes designed to address injuries among youth.