According to the "2018 Unintentional Injury Statistical Survey Report" published by the Department of Health, more than a quarter of injuries occurred at home, and the main causes of injuries were animals, plants and people, including the injured person.
What are the most common injuries in Hong Kong?
What is the most common cause of accidents?
The survey was conducted from September 17, 2018, to July 14, 2019, and interviewed 5,394 households with a total of 14,204 accidental injuries that occurred within a year.
When weighted by the percentage of the population of 7.22 million, 321,000 people (4.4%) were injured.
Among them, accidents caused by falls were the most common, accounting for 39.4%, followed by sprains and bruises, accounting for 26.2% and 13.3%, respectively.
Compared with age, the physical function of the elderly is gradually declining, and they are prone to accidents. The survey results show that the number of elderly people who are injured by falls is the largest, and the elderly aged 65 or over account for nearly 80% of the total injuries.
However, comparing the total number of accidental injuries, people aged 45 to 54 suffered the most injuries, followed by those aged 55 to 64.
The survey also pointed out that the most common place for accidents is at home, as many as 90,000 times.
Respondents generally believe that kitchens with sharp objects and slippery bathrooms are the most prone to accidents and injuries. However, the report pointed out that the living room is the highest proportion of accidents, 43.6%, followed by the kitchen and bathroom.
Falls are the main cause of nearly 40% of injury accidents. In terms of falls, streets and roads are the most common places for falls, accounting for nearly 30% of the total. It is usually caused by uneven ground, such as slippery or bumpy ground.
Of the 326,000 injuries, 36% of the accidents involved human factors, including other people and the injured person.
The report pointed out that examples of injuries caused by the injured themselves include spraining an ankle while dancing, using a bottle opener to open a bottle cap with too much force, and punching himself in the head with a fist.
The report reminds the public to remain vigilant, especially when at home.
It can improve the home environment and reduce the risk of accidents, such as using U-shaped door stops to prevent fingers from closing the door, covering the sharp corners of furniture with sharp corner protective covers, and placing items evenly according to the load-bearing capacity of the furniture.