Injuries in Swedish Day-Care Centers

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Abstract
In the developed countries, an increasing number of children are enrolled in day-care centers. When parents leave their child in a day-care center they expect high standards of health and safety. Accidental injuries are a major threat in this age group. In a comparable institution that serves children, the school, the risk of injury is higher than in the home environment.1-2 Thus, safety in day-care centers cannot be taken for granted. A few studies of injuries in day-care centers have been reported, from the Nordic countries2,3-5 and from the US.6-10 Most of these studies, however, have been small and most lack information on time of exposure. Information about the risk of injury in Swedish day-care centers might be of interest as enrollment has been high for a long time. In Sweden, within the frame of a national injury program,11 a number of local hospital- and health center-based injury report systems have been set up. All have a basic common coding. These systems enable compilation of injuries in day-care centers on a national basis. The aim of our study was to analyze child injuries in day-care centers as reported in 10 local injury registry systems in Sweden regarding incidence, type, and mechanism of injury. METHOD Data were compiled from 10 local injury registry systems, covering 1- to 2-year periods. The earliest registers were from the years 1983 to 1984 and the latest from 1991. These systems were set up in all medical institutions at a predefined level, covering all individuals in a total or a part of a county.
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