A Study on Domestic Accidents Among Women in a Coastal Area of Mangaluru, Karnataka

Background Domestic accidents are a worldwide health problem because of an epidemiological transition from communicable to non-communicable diseases. ‘Modern Day Epidemic’ is the term coined for accidents. Due in large part to the fact that they have not been accurately counted, domestic accidents have not yet received the same level of attention as traffic accidents or work-related injuries. The objectives of the study were (i) to assess the prevalence of domestic accidents among women, and (ii) to study the epidemiological factors associated with domestic accidents. Materials and methods This was a community-based cross-sectional study carried out in Panemangaluru, Dakshina Kannada, from Jun 2016 to December 2017. Complete enumeration was done and all the women above 18 years of age were interviewed. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, a history of home accidents, and accident-related factors were gathered using a pre-tested, validated, semi-structured questionnaire. Statistical analysis was done using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 22 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results Among 1573 subjects, the prevalence of domestic accidents among rural women was 35.9%. Most (28.5%) domestic accidents were in the age group of 30 to 39 years. The most common domestic accident was injuries from sharp objects (51.2%). The majority of domestic accidents (38.9%) occurred in the morning or evening hours, and the kitchen (75.9%) was the most common place of occurrence. The majority of victims received care at home, and in 96.2% of domestic accidents, complete recovery was noted. Conclusion The prevalence of domestic accidents in rural women was 35.9%. Injuries from sharp objects were the most common type of domestic accident.