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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Samia Halileh, MD , PhD, A Daoud, MPH, R Khatib, MSc, and N Mikki, MD. Institute of Community and Public Health, Institute of Community and Public Health. Birzeit University. West Bank, PO BOX 14 Birzeit., Ramallah, Palestine, 02-2982972/3, Samia@birzeit.edu
Objective: To demonstrate the relationship between the rate of disability and type of weapon used and site of injury during the first three months of the Palestinian Intifada. Design: Retrospective analysis of data obtained from the Ministry of Health, pertaining to all those who received treatment at field and ordinary hospitals. Participants: The data was collected beginning the 28th of Sept. to the 31st of Dec. 2000, and totalling 6071 injuries. Main outcome measures: Percentages of injured by type of weapon, age groups and site of injury. Seriousness of injury was categorized based on hospital notes and used as a predictor of future disability. Results: Of the injured, 1418 were hit by live bullets and 1936 by rubber coated metal bullets. Of those 3032 were hit in the upper part of the body including the head and 1403 to the lower part including the pelvis. Twenty five percent were school children and 83% were below 35 years. Thirteen percent of the injured sustained severe injury and will become permanently disabled. Conclusions: Most of the injured were hit in the upper part of the body and most of them were shot by bullets. The rate of future disability is expected to be of a minimum of 13% of all injured, clearly indicting the excessive use of force against civilians.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Disability, Injuries
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: Institute of Community and Public Health
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.