Intentional burns in Nepal: A comparative study
Introduction
Injuries, violence and consequent disabilities are a major public health problem in Nepal [1]. An injury survey by the Nepal Health Research Council (2009) [1] using emergency department data from selected tertiary health facilities estimated that intentional injuries accounted for 23% of all injuries. This report also identified the high prevalence of morbidity related to interpersonal violence in Nepal and the high prevalence of self-inflicted injury among females. There has been a lack of reliable and good quality national or regional injury data in Nepal that has hindered injury surveillance and recognition of injuries as a growing problem [2]. A recent systematic review of burn in South Asia identified the lack of peer-reviewed burn data from Nepal [3].
Patients with intentional burns comprise a patient population with unique clinical presentations [4], [5], usually sustaining more severe burns with worse outcomes, including high mortality rates [6], [7]. The burden of intentional burn is not equally distributed across the globe [8] with higher incidences reported in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) [8], [9], [10], [11], [12] compared with high-income countries where such burns represent only 1–9% of burn admissions [6], [13], [14]. Self-inflicted burns include a spectrum of burns from self-harm with minimal injury to suicide by self-immolation [9], [10], [11], [12], [15], [16], [17], and represent major medical and social concerns globally [18]. Self-inflicted burns are often associated with pre-existing psychiatric illness, specific racial and cultural backgrounds, gender, lower socio-economic status and inadequate access to mental health care [12], [18], [19], [20], [21], [22], [23]; and patients have a poor prognosis [7], [14]. Pre-existing drug and or alcohol abuse, low socio-economic status, and a spectrum of burn severity [4], [24], [25] have been associated with assault burns. While past studies show that flame is the main mechanism of assault burns and petrol and flammable fluids the most frequently used accelerants [24], [26], assault by hot liquids [27] and chemicals have been reported [4], [24], [25], [28], [29].
Nepal is a country in South Asia with diverse geography and culture, with 126 caste/ethnic groups of which Chhetri and Brahman-Hill are the largest caste/ethnic groups representing 16.6 and 12.2% of the population, respectively [30]. It is one of the poorest countries in the world [31] with a population of approximately 27 million people of which 42% of the population is younger than 18 years of age, 48% are male, with an overall literacy rate (5 years and older) of 66% reported in 2011, with male literacy of 75% compared with 57% for females [28]. While the majority (83%) of the population lives in rural areas, Nepal is urbanizing rapidly. During the period 1999–2006, the country experienced civil war that resulted in internal displacement of many people from their rural homes to urban areas. Sporadic terrorist incidents and politically motivated violence in Nepal [32] have resulted in burns.
Kathmandu Valley is the most developed and populated area in Nepal and has a population of 2.5 million [30]. Bir Hospital, based in Kathmandu, is the oldest medical institution in Nepal and has a 9-bed burns unit dedicated to treatment and management of adult burns patients. There are nine other hospitals in Kathmandu with capacity to treat burn patients; however, Bir Hospital is the only tertiary referral center for burns in Nepal which provides a free service and many of the patients admitted to the Bir Hospital are from very low socio-demographic backgrounds. While the cost of hospitalization and some treatments are free, other basic costs of treatment must be paid for by the patient and their family. A volunteer non-government organization in the hospital (Christina Dispensary) provides limited amounts of medicines and the Burns Unit receives additional support from individuals, non-government organizations and international non-government organizations. Burns Violence Survivors-Nepal [33], a not-for-profit non-government organization, has been involved in providing counseling, nutrition and other allied health support services to patients in the Burns Unit at Bir Hospital, and has provided burn and violence prevention education since 2011 to the general public and schools in Kathmandu Valley.
Nepal is a poor country that has limited burn specialist facilities and currently there is an absence of Nepal burn data presented in the published literature. Reporting of Nepal data is important on many levels: to highlight the medical and public health issues of intentional burns in this country, to inform government and local health care providers and to direct preventive burn strategies. This study is a result of a collaborative effort between the Burns Unit at Bir Hospital, Burns Violence Survivors-Nepal and the Burn Injury Research Unit, University of Western Australia. This study aims, firstly, to compare socio-demographic, injury and psychosocial characteristics of patients with intentional (combined self-harm and assault) with unintentional burns hospitalized at Bir Hospital, Kathmandu, during the period 2002–2013; and, secondly, to compare the socio-demographic, injury and psychosocial characteristics of patients with self-inflicted burns to those with assault burns.
Section snippets
Methods
Secondary data analyses of de-identified data of patients hospitalized at Bir Hospital, Kathmandu with a burn during the period of 1 January 2002 to 31 August 2013 were conducted. Permission to analyze the data was granted by the Nepal Health Research Council. Patient information used for this study included age, gender, caste [34], marital status, education level (illiterate, basic to class 8, class 9–12, tertiary level), economic status (capacity to pay for treatment: none, some, sufficient),
Results
From 1 January 2002 to 31 August 2013 there were a total of 1148 burn admissions to Bir Hospital of which 329 admissions were for intentional burn, representing 29% of all burn admissions during this time. Twenty-six percent (n = 293) of admissions were for self-inflicted burns and 3% (n = 36) for assault burns. Examination of patients’ place of residence by the five administrative regions found the majority of patients came from the Central Region (n = 991, 86%), with the remaining 14% from the Far
Discussion
This study provides a comprehensive assessment of patient socio-demographic, psychosocial and burn characteristics of patients hospitalized with intentional burns at Bir Hospital Burns Unit Kathmandu, Nepal, during a 12-year period. This study has generated many findings, which if confirmed by subsequent research, will have important implications for the understanding and prevention of intentional burns in Nepal. The hospital data indicated that 29% of all burn admissions were for intentional
Conclusions
The hospital data showed that 29% of all burn admissions were for intentional burns, and that younger females accounted for the majority of these patients. Almost all intentional burns occurred in the home, were caused by fire, and kerosene was the fuel most likely to be used. Compared with unintentional burns, intentional burns resulted in more severe burns and higher mortality rates. Prevention should be focused not only on burn awareness and safety, but also interventions to mitigate
Acknowledgments
The authors wish to thank the following organizations and people for the facilitation and funding of this project: Burns Violence Survivors Nepal; Bir Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal; Rotary Club of Scarborough, Western Australia; The Australian Government (Endeavour Executive Award H.J.W.); The Worldwide Universities Network (Healthy Kitchens: Healthy Cities project); Woodside Corporation (Senior Research Fellowship J.M.D.); Dr. Keshav Joshi (founding plastic surgeon, Bir Hospital); Padma Ghimire,
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