A Rural-Urban comparison of the prevalence and factors associated with unintentional home fall injuries in South Western Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Unintentional home fall injuries contribute to the morbidity and mortality burden in developing countries. Rural-Urban variation on the burden of unintentional home fall injuries in Africa is poorly documented. We compared the prevalence and factors associated with unintentional home fall injuries among household members in rural and urban areas of South Western Nigeria. Methods: We conducted a community-based cross sectional survey using a three-stage cluster sampling technique to select 4433 individuals from 1015 households from selected settlements in a rural and urban Local Government Areas (LGAs). A structured questionnaire was used to obtain information on household members’ characteristics, individual injury experience and nature of injury experienced. Chi square test and logistic regression were used to determine factors associated with unintentional home fall injuries. Results: Overall, the incidence of unintentional home falls injury was 171/1000 per year with a significantly higher incidence in the urban (195/1000 per year) compared to rural (150/1000 per year) areas. The odds of experiencing unintentional home fall injuries was 1.47 times higher in household members living in urban areas compared to their rural counterparts (OR=1.47; 95%CI: 1.13-1.92). Conclusion: The burden of unintentional home fall injuries is high with a significantly higher urban preponderance. Enforcement of building codes to ensure safety of the home environment especially in urban areas is also recommended for resource poor countries like Nigeria.