Guanmin Chen ¹, Gary A. Smith ², Shusong Deng ³, Sarah Grim Hostetler ¹, Huiyun Xiang ^2*

¹ Center for Injury Research and Policy, Columbus Children's Research Institute
² Columbus Children's Research Institute
³ Youjiang Medical College of Nationalities

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: xiangh{at}pediatrics.ohio-state.edu.

	Abstract

Objectives: To describe nonfatal injuries and calculate injury rates among middle and high school students in Gangxi, China. Methods: Students were selected using multi-stage randomizing techniques, and nonfatal injuries occurring among 1,840 students from February 2002 to January 2003 were monitored using standardized injury forms. Risk factors for injury were identified in multivariate analyses. Results: The annual overall injury rate was 32.3 per 100 students. Boys had a significantly higher injury rate than girls (34.8 vs. 30.3 per 100 students), and a significantly higher proportion of injuries among boys were caused by other students (28.1% vs. 19.4%). A higher proportion of injuries among girls (40.7%) occurred at home. For both boys and girls, sports were the most common students' activities associated with injury. Falls were the leading cause of injury, and extremities were the body regions most frequently injured. Gender, age, ethnicity, and family income levels were identified as significant risk factors for injury in multivariate analyses. Conclusions: Nonfatal injuries among middle and high school students should be recognized as a significant public health issue in China.

Key Words: Adolescent Health, Injury/Emergency Care/Violence, Prevention, Asians, Surveillance, Surveys

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