A CCIDENTAL D EATH OR I NJURY

All households reported on whether any household member had suffered accidental injury or death in the 12 months preceding the household interview. If anyone had been injured, the cause of the injury was recorded. The respondent to the Household Questionnaire was further asked whether the accident victim was alive or dead and, if dead, whether the death was the result of the reported accident.

The questions were designed in this order to definitively assess the cause of injury and, if a death was noted, the cause of death.

3.1.1 Frequency of Accidental Death or Injury

Accidental injuries and deaths in Cambodia were not common (Table 3.1). Two percent of the population had suffered an injury or death by accident in the past 12 months. Accidental injuries were much more common than accidental deaths; for every 1,000 people in the population, 17 suffered an injury and 1 suffered an accidental death.

The percentage of the population injured in the past 12 months increased with age from 0.7 percent among children age 0-9 to a peak of 2.6 percent among adults age 20-39. The percentage experiencing accidental injury decreased thereafter, to 1.7 percent among adults age 40-59 and 1.5 percent among those age 60 and above.

Males were more than twice as likely as females to be injured in an accident. Overall, 2.4 percent of males had been injured in an accident in the past 12 months, as compared with 1.1 percent of females.

I

30 • Utilization of Health Services for Accident, Illness, or Injury

Although there were no differences in accidental injuries by urban-rural residence, there were differences across provinces. The highest percentage of accidental injury was reported in Kratie, with 3.3 percent of the household population experiencing an injury in the preceding 12 months. The lowest rates of accidental injury were in Preah Vihear/Stung Treng (0.2 percent) and Otdar Meanchey (0.8 percent). The percentage of accidental death ranged from 0.0 to 0.2 percent across provinces.

Table 3.1 Injury or death in an accident

Percentage of the de jure household population injured or killed in an accident in the past 12 months, according to background characteristics, Cambodia 2014

Background characteristic

Result of accident Total injured or killed

Total number of de jure household members Injured Killed

Age

0-9 0.7 0.2 0.9 16,182

10-19 1.6 0.1 1.6 14,576

20-39 2.6 0.0 2.6 22,161

40-59 1.7 0.0 1.7 13,959

60+ 1.5 0.0 1.6 6,079

Sex

Male 2.4 0.0 2.5 35,336

Female 1.1 0.1 1.1 37,622

Residence

Urban 1.7 0.0 1.7 11,469

Rural 1.7 0.1 1.8 61,489

Province

Banteay Meanchey 1.4 0.1 1.5 3,134 Kampong Cham 2.1 0.0 2.1 9,454

Kampong Chhnang 2.9 0.1 3.0 2,574 Kampong Speu 1.4 0.1 1.5 4,665 Kampong Thom 1.4 0.0 1.4 3,632

Kandal 2.1 0.0 2.1 5,674

Kratie 3.3 0.0 3.3 2,160

Phnom Penh 1.7 0.0 1.7 6,814 Prey Veng 1.1 0.1 1.2 4,942

Pursat 1.1 0.1 1.2 2,839

Siem Reap 1.6 0.0 1.7 4,811 Svay Rieng 1.4 0.1 1.5 2,736

Takeo 1.6 0.1 1.7 4,475

Otdar Meanchey 0.8 0.0 0.8 1,203 Battambang/Pailin 2.1 0.1 2.2 5,623 Kampot/Kep 1.7 0.1 1.8 3,220 Preah Sihanouk/Koh Kong 2.3 0.0 2.3 1,622

Preah Vihear/Stung Treng 0.2 0.0 0.3 1,813 Mondul Kiri/Ratanak Kiri 1.6 0.2 1.8 1,567

Total 1.7 0.1 1.8 72,958

3.1.2 Type of Accident

Table 3.2 presents data on accidental injury by type of accident, according to the background characteristics of age, sex, residence, and province. Data on accidental deaths are also included, but these data are not available by age and sex.

Road accidents accounted for the greatest proportion of accidental injuries and deaths. More than 7 of 10 people who had been injured or killed in the previous 12 months were injured as a result of a road accident. Nine percent of injuries/deaths were the result of a fall, and 5 percent were the result of a snake or animal bite. Two percent of injuries/deaths resulted from violence. One percent of injuries/deaths were the result of burning, while less than 1 percent each were the result of a gunshot, drowning, and poisoning.

Nine percent of injuries/deaths were due to other or unknown causes.

Table 3.2 Injury or death in an accident by type of accident

Percentage of the de jure household population injured or killed in an accident in the past 12 months by type of accident, according to age and sex, Cambodia 2014

characteristic Gunshot Road

accident Severe

building Drowning¹ Poisoning

(chemical) Violence Other Note: Figures in parentheses are based on 25-49 unweighted cases. An asterisk indicates that a figure is based on fewer than 25 unweighted cases and has been suppressed.

1All drowning cases reported were deceased

Cause of injury varied by age, but road accidents were the most commonly cited source of injury for people of all ages, especially those age 20-39. After road accidents, animal/snake bites and falls from trees/buildings were the most common causes of injuries among children age 0-9, accounting for 14 percent and 23 percent of injuries, respectively. Gunshots accounted for a higher percentage of injuries among people age 20-39 than for any other age group. Severe burning accounted for a higher percentage among children and young adults less than age 20 than among other age groups. Violence as a cause of injury was most common among people age 10-39. There were significant differences in accidental injuries in the preceding 12 months by sex. While males were more likely than females to be injured in road accidents (74 percent versus 67 percent), females were more likely to be injured from severe burning and falls than males.

There were other significant differences in accidental injuries/deaths in the preceding 12 months by urban-rural residence and province. Not surprisingly, road accidents accounted for a higher percentage of injuries/deaths in urban areas (82 percent) than in rural areas (70 percent). Falls accounted for a higher proportion of accidental injuries or deaths in rural areas than in urban areas (10 percent versus 6 percent).

The distribution of causes of injuries/deaths by province should be analyzed with caution because sample sizes were small in some provinces.

32 • Utilization of Health Services for Accident, Illness, or Injury