Serious Unintentional Injuries Among In-School Adolescents in Saint Lucia: A Further Analysis of Prevalence and Correlates

Serious injuries among adolescents are a leading cause of death and a global public health concern. This study explored the prevalence and risk factors associated with serious injuries among in -school adolescents in Saint Lucia. Using a two -stage cluster sample design to attain a fair population representation, we analysed data from the World Health Organization's 2018 Global School -based Health Survey among adolescents in the Eastern Caribbean island of Saint Lucia. We used the Chi-square test and binomial logistic regression analysis with an adjusted odds ratio (AOR) at a 95 % confidence interval (CI). We observed that the prevalence rate of serious injuries among adolescents in Saint Lucia was 44 % (24.5 % male versus 20.0 % female). After controlling for other factors, serious injuries among in -school adolescents in Saint Lucia were predicted by sex (male) (AOR = 1.11, 95 % CI = 0.792-1.556), missing class without permission (AOR = 1.308, 95 % CI = 1.009-1.696) abusing alcohol (AOR = 1.370, 95 % CI = 1.114-1.684), experiencing physical attacks (AOR = 1.669, 95 % CI = 1.327-2.099), physical fight (AOR = 1.527, 95 % CI = 1.529-1.225) and being bullied (AOR = 2.171, 95 % CI = 1.712-2.753). Adolescent health promotion and injury prevention programmes should adopt multidisciplinary approaches to address these personal and psychosocial risk factors in Saint Lucia.