Affiliations: Karolinska Institute, Department of Public Health
Sciences, Division of Social Medicine, Norrbacka, SE-171 76 Stockholm,
Sweden | National Institute of Public Health, Injury Prevention
Program, SE-103 52 Stockholm, Sweden | National Institute for Working Life, Department for
Work and Health, SE-171 84 Solna, Sweden
Note: [] Karolinska Institutet, Department of Public Health Sciences,
Norrbacka, Division of Social Medicine, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden. Tel.: +46
8 517 779 27; Fax: +46 8 33 46 93; E-mail: lucie.laflamme@phs.ki.se
Abstract: The study examines the distribution of injuries and their patterns
among Swedish school pupils. Data were gathered from an injury register created
during the school year 1996/97, with the help of 79 schools and using a
standardized registration form. Injury ratios (IRs) by gender, type of
municipality, and type of school were measured all injuries aggregated and for
five injury patterns. IRs did not vary much by gender, but showed considerable
variation by type of school and type of municipality. A strong association was
found between injury pattern and gender. Taken as a whole, the findings shed
light on the circumstances under which school injuries are incurred. They
suggest that targets for prevention may vary by gender, school level and, to
some extent, by type of municipality. The extent to which the findings are
generalizable is uncertain.
Keywords: gender, school injuries, injury patterns, injury ratios, cluster analysis
