Injury is a crucial public health problem causing disability or even death among local youth. Types of injury can vary from minor tissue injuries such as ankle sprain during sport activities to serious or life-threatening ones such as head or spinal injuries in traffic crashes. Effective measures are available to prevent the occurrence of injuries e.g. use of helmets when riding bicycle and complying with traffic lights.
Local Statistics on Injury among Youth
(1) Proportion* of youth aged 10 to 19 who had sustained injury in the 12 months before enumeration by gender, in 2008
|
Gender
|
2008
|
|
Male
|
7.8%
|
|
Female
|
7.3%
|
|
Overall
|
7.6%
|
Base: Respondents aged 10 to 19
* The proportion is expressed as a percentage of the population in the respective age-sex groups.
(2) Proportion* of main cause in injury episodes sustained by youth aged 10 to 19 in the 12 months before enumeration by gender, in 2008
|
Main cause of injury episodes
|
Male
|
Female
|
Overall
|
|
Sports
|
40.1%
|
31.7%
|
36.5%
|
|
Falls
|
22.7%
|
44.8%
|
32.1%
|
|
Sprain
|
14.6%
|
9.8%§
|
12.6%
|
|
Hit / struck
|
11.0%
|
3.4%§
|
7.7%
|
|
Cutting / piercing
|
4.6%§
|
2.4%§
|
3.6%§
|
|
Crush
|
2.5%§
|
3.4%§
|
2.9%§
|
|
Traffic
|
2.4%§
|
-
|
1.4%§
|
|
Burn
|
-
|
2.9%§
|
1.2%§
|
|
Others
|
2.1%§
|
1.7%§
|
2.0%§
|
Base: Injury episodes (up to three most serious ones) sustained by the respondents aged 10 to 19 in the 12 months before enumeration
* The proportion is expressed as a percentage of the population in the respective age-sex groups.
- Less than 0.05%
§ This estimate was compiled based on a very small sample. Readers are advised to interpret this estimate with caution.
(3) Proportion* of youth aged 10 to 19 who wore a helmet when riding a bicycle as a cyclist in the 12 months before enumeration by gender, in 2008
|
Gender
|
Frequency of adopting preventive measure (i.e. wore a helmet when riding a bicycle) against transport-related injury as a cyclist
|
|
All or most of the time
|
Some or a little of the time
|
None of the time
|
|
Male
|
3.1%
|
7.6%
|
89.2%
|
|
Female
|
2.3%
|
5.0%
|
92.7%
|
|
Overall
|
2.7%
|
6.4%
|
90.9%
|
Base: Respondents aged 10 to 19 who rode bicycles and the particular preventive measure was applicable to them
* The proportion is expressed as a percentage of the population in the respective age-sex groups.
(4) Proportion* of youth aged 10 to 19 who complied with the traffic lights when crossing a road as a pedestrian in the 12 months before enumeration by gender, in 2008
|
Gender
|
Frequency of adopting preventive measure
(i.e. complied with the traffic lights when crossing a road) against transport-related injury as a pedestrian
|
|
All or most of the time
|
Some or a little of the time
|
None of the time
|
|
Male
|
90.1%
|
9.3%
|
0.6%§
|
|
Female
|
92.9%
|
6.9%
|
0.2%§
|
|
Overall
|
91.5%
|
8.1%
|
0.4%§
|
Base: Respondents aged 10 to 19 who were pedestrians and the particular preventive measure was applicable to them
* The proportion is expressed as a percentage of the population in the respective age-sex groups.
§ This estimate was compiled based on a very small sample. Readers are advised to interpret this estimate with caution.
Note:
- In the survey, an “injury episode” is defined as “an unintentional injury that is serious enough to limit the normal activities of a person”.
- The percentages may not be added up to 100% due to rounding.
Source of data:
Injury Survey 2008. Hong Kong SAR: Department of Health.