Background: Injuries caused by accidents are the leading causes of disability, permanent deformities, and death among children. This study aimed to determine the epidemiological patterns of childhood accidents and injuries, as well as the associated factors affecting Iranian children.
Materials and Methods: In this systematic review, a comprehensive search of online databases (Medline, EMBASE, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, CIVILICA, SID, Magiran, and Google Scholar) was conducted for relevant studies with no time limit up to June 2022, utilizing the appropriate MeSH keywords. Two reviewers evaluated the quality of eligible studies and performed the selection process.
Results: Nine studies (published between 2005 and June 2022) with a combined sample size of 20,591 were included in this review. Overall, 70% of accidents occurred in the home. The incidence of accidents among children ranged from 16% to 40% across the studies, and the mean age of accident victims was 2.5 ± 1.5 years. Boys accounted for the majority of victims (59.4%). The most frequent causes of accidents were traffic accidents (53.4%), followed by physical injury (50.7%), falls (44.3%), and swallowing foreign objects (22%). Furthermore, 93.3% of accidents occurred in urban areas. A significant association was found between accidents and gender, age, type of housing, location of the accident, higher parental education, season, and types of injury (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: The results indicated that 70% of accidents involving children occurred at home. The most common type of accident was traffic-related, followed by physical injuries, falls, and swallowing incidents. It appears that nearly all home accidents can be prevented through education. Therefore, developing educational and preventive policies is essential to improve road safety standards and reduce home accidents and injuries in Iran.