Objectives: To investigate the patterns of unintentional home injuries in Korea.
Methods: The study population was 12,382,088 people who utilized National Health Insurance services due to injuries (main
diagnosis codes S00 to T28) during 2006. Stratified samples(n=459,501) were randomly selected by sex, age group and
severity of injury. A questionnaire was developed based on the International Classification of External Causes of Injury and
18,000 cases surveyed by telephone were analyzed after being projected into population proportionately according to the
response rates of their strata. Domestic injury cases were finally included.
Results: Domestic injuries (n=3,804) comprised 21.1% of total daily life injuries during 2006. Women were vulnerable to
home injuries, with the elderly and those of lower income (medical-aid users) tending to suffer more severe injuries. Injury
occurred most often due to a slipping fall (33.9%), overexertion (15.3%), falling (9.5%) and stumbling (9.4%), with severe
injury most often resulting from slipping falls, falls and stumbles. Increasing age correlated with domestic injury-related
disability.
Conclusions: The present findings provide basic information for development of home injury prevention strategies, with focus
on the elderly.