[Retrospective overview of medically treated non-fatal injuries in pupils aged 11-15 years in Poland (1994-2002)].

The aim of the study was to analyse: annual occurrence of injuries in pupils aged 11, 13 and 15 years in Poland, common location of injury occurrence and type of activity, as well as the type of body harm. The results of the survey were compared with similar studies in 1994 and 1998 and series of trends were drawn. The survey was carried out in Poland within the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children. A WHO Collaborative Cross-national Study (HBSC). The representative sample (N = 6383) was selected by two-stage, cluster drawing with stratification by place of residence. As the survey instrument the international questionnaire was used, translated and adapted for national purposes. Selected determinants of injuries were examined by crude odds (OR) with 95 per cent confidence interval (CI) calculated from contingency tables with the use of EPI INFO 6.04d software. Results of the study indicated the linear increase of non-fatal injuries among 11, 13, 15 years old pupils in 1994-2002 (from 17.6% to 28.4%) and even more evident increase of repeated injuries in the same time (from 2.1% to 8.6%, respectively). School and home were the most common location of injuries occurrence, while training for sport was the most common type of activity. Boys, living in urban areas were at highest risk of injuries in total, and by selected injuries outcomes. An increase of awareness that injuries are preventable and implementation of well know in the world prevention strategies are needed to stop disadvantageous trends in non-fatal medically treated injuries among school-aged children.