Percentage of Injuries, and Related Factors Among a Group of Medical Students in Cairo University: A Cross-Sectional Study

BACKGROUND: There has been a lack of data on injuries in young adults, including university students, in particular medical students. AIM: The current study was conducted to explore the percentage, and related factors of injuries among a group of medical students, who constitute an important risk group for accidents and injuries. METHODS: This exploratory cross-sectional study was conducted in Kasr Al-ainy Medical School. A convenient sample of medical students was chosen. 1300 survey questionnaires were distributed along all academic years, 807 from them were completely retrieved. The questionnaire form was adopted from “Health behavior survey among university students in low- and middle-income countries questionnaire.” Data entry and analysis were carried out using SPSS 21.0. RESULTS: One-quarter reported having a form of injury last year. Falling was the most nominated cause of injuries by the participant students (5,31.3%). Only those who “perceived” their general health as “well” reported being injured significantly more than those who perceived their general health as poor, with a p value = 0.006 and odds ratio of 1.6 (1.1–2.2). Taking drugs was the only factor significantly determining how the injury happened; whether it is intentional or unintentional with a p = 0.01 highlighting that about one-third (5, 31.3%) of those who were intentionally injured were taking drugs. CONCLUSION: Two factors were identified which will increase the understanding of public health of injuries in university communities to design programs for injury prevention programs specifically targeting medical students.