Intentional childhood injuries in Greece 1996-97--data from a population-based Emergency Department Injury Surveillance System (EDISS).

AIM It has been gradually recognized that intentional injuries among children represent a largely hidden problem in modern societies. With the exception of mortality, population-based data from Greece have not been previously reported. To assess the magnitude and the characteristics of intentional injuries among children aged 0-14 years old, data from the population-based Emergency Department Injury Surveillance System (EDISS) database during the period 1996-97 were used. METHODS EDISS relies on personal interviews with children and their escorts who contact the emergency departments of three hospitals. Two of these hospitals are district hospitals of the county of Magnesia and the island of Corfu, whereas the other is a university children's hospital that covers the Greater Athens area on alternative days. RESULTS Among 46.807 children recorded in EDISS, 108 injuries (0.23%) were attributed to acts of violence. Among the 108 intentional injuries, only 11 were caused by firearms or other weapons and only 4 concerned infants. In comparison to unintentional home and leisure injuries, intentional childhood injuries increase significantly with age and they are more common among migrant children. They occur more frequently during late night and early morning hours, they are more serious, and they are more often multiple and concentrated on the head. CONCLUSIONS In Greece. a problem of violence directed against children does exist. The actual magnitude of this problem is difficult to estimate, but its size appears to be smaller in comparison with that reported in other populations.