Prevalence and Correlates of Serious Injuries among Adolescents in Mauritius

Abstract

Introduction. Injuries are a major global health problem that affects teenagers in many countries. Though several studies have been done in many countries, little is known among adolescents in Mauritius. Therefore, our paper explored the prevalence and correlates of serious injuries among adolescents in Mauritius. Methods. We analysed the 2017 Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) data from Mauritius, using the Chi-square test and binomial logistic regression analysis with adjusted odds ratio (AOR) at 95% confidence interval (CI). Results. The prevalence of serious injuries among adolescents in Mauritius stood at 39.0%. Also, the predictors of serious injuries included sex (AOR = 0.70, CI = 0.58–0.81), physical attack (AOR = 0.47, CI = 0.39–0.57), being bullied (AOR = 0.48, CI = 0.48–0.70), suicide ideation (AOR = 0.65, CI = 0.49–0.85), hunger (AOR = 0.65, CI = 0.48–0.86), truancy from school (AOR = 0.77, CI = 0.63–0.93), marijuana use (AOR = 0.54, CI = 0.39–0.76), alcohol consumption (AOR = 0.64, CI = 0.70–0.98), and parental neglect (AOR = 0.83, CI = 0.70–0.98). Conclusion. The rate of injury among adolescents in Mauritius is moderately high, with sex, suicidal thought, hunger, truancy, drug use, and parental neglect as correlates. There is an urgent need for health promotion interventions at family, community, and school levels to deal with this level of serious injuries and the factors influencing such occurrences among these adolescents in Mauritius.