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A retrospective descriptive analysis of fatal ground level falls and falls from a height: A 5-year review
Falls have been identified as the second leading cause of accidental deaths in the world and has become a public health issue. Depending on the manner and height at which the fall occurs, different injury patterns are observed, and these are useful for the determination of circumstances surrounding...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Pathology
2023
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| _version_ | 1867613305682526208 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Chonyera, Rumbidzai Lorraine Stephanie |
| author2 | Mole, Calvin |
| author_browse | Chonyera, Rumbidzai Lorraine Stephanie Mole, Calvin |
| author_facet | Mole, Calvin Chonyera, Rumbidzai Lorraine Stephanie |
| author_sort | Chonyera, Rumbidzai Lorraine Stephanie |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Falls have been identified as the second leading cause of accidental deaths in the world and has become a public health issue. Depending on the manner and height at which the fall occurs, different injury patterns are observed, and these are useful for the determination of circumstances surrounding death. The aim of the present study was to determine the demographic characteristics, prevalence and injury patterns associated with ground level falls and falls from a height. A five-year (1 January 2014 - 31 December 2018) retrospective descriptive review of fatal fall cases investigated at Salt River mortuary was conducted. The prevalence and patterns of injuries were assessed with regard to fall height, impacting surface and victim demographics. There were 360 fall related deaths. Fall prevalence in the Western Metropole District of Cape Town is 3.72/ 100 000 population. Ground level falls were prevalent among the elderly while younger individuals fell from greater heights. There is an association between the sex of an individual and height from which they fall. Accidental falls were more common and no association was found between the alleged manner of death and sex. Skeletally, a higher frequency of fractures was observed in ground level falls while the head, chest and pelvis were affected in the high level falls. additionally, an association was observed between injuries sustained and fall heights. There is a significant difference in fracture proportions between the heights in the pelvic and lower extremities and no significant difference in head, spine, chest and upper extremities. As expected, trauma associated with falls varies based on the height of the fall. Lower extremity fractures are common in ground level falls however a challenge remains for falls from a height as there is a need for more studies to focus on the diverse patterns that occur in these. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/37409 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:34:00.978Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2023 |
| publishDateRange | 2023 |
| publishDateSort | 2023 |
| publisher | Department of Pathology |
| publisherStr | Department of Pathology |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/37409 A retrospective descriptive analysis of fatal ground level falls and falls from a height: A 5-year review Chonyera, Rumbidzai Lorraine Stephanie Mole, Calvin Biomedical Forensic Science Falls have been identified as the second leading cause of accidental deaths in the world and has become a public health issue. Depending on the manner and height at which the fall occurs, different injury patterns are observed, and these are useful for the determination of circumstances surrounding death. The aim of the present study was to determine the demographic characteristics, prevalence and injury patterns associated with ground level falls and falls from a height. A five-year (1 January 2014 - 31 December 2018) retrospective descriptive review of fatal fall cases investigated at Salt River mortuary was conducted. The prevalence and patterns of injuries were assessed with regard to fall height, impacting surface and victim demographics. There were 360 fall related deaths. Fall prevalence in the Western Metropole District of Cape Town is 3.72/ 100 000 population. Ground level falls were prevalent among the elderly while younger individuals fell from greater heights. There is an association between the sex of an individual and height from which they fall. Accidental falls were more common and no association was found between the alleged manner of death and sex. Skeletally, a higher frequency of fractures was observed in ground level falls while the head, chest and pelvis were affected in the high level falls. additionally, an association was observed between injuries sustained and fall heights. There is a significant difference in fracture proportions between the heights in the pelvic and lower extremities and no significant difference in head, spine, chest and upper extremities. As expected, trauma associated with falls varies based on the height of the fall. Lower extremity fractures are common in ground level falls however a challenge remains for falls from a height as there is a need for more studies to focus on the diverse patterns that occur in these. 2023-03-13T13:02:18Z 2023-03-13T13:02:18Z 2022 2023-02-20T12:25:19Z Master Thesis Masters MPhil http://hdl.handle.net/11427/37409 eng application/pdf Department of Pathology Faculty of Health Sciences |
| spellingShingle | Biomedical Forensic Science Chonyera, Rumbidzai Lorraine Stephanie A retrospective descriptive analysis of fatal ground level falls and falls from a height: A 5-year review |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | A retrospective descriptive analysis of fatal ground level falls and falls from a height: A 5-year review |
| title_full | A retrospective descriptive analysis of fatal ground level falls and falls from a height: A 5-year review |
| title_fullStr | A retrospective descriptive analysis of fatal ground level falls and falls from a height: A 5-year review |
| title_full_unstemmed | A retrospective descriptive analysis of fatal ground level falls and falls from a height: A 5-year review |
| title_short | A retrospective descriptive analysis of fatal ground level falls and falls from a height: A 5-year review |
| title_sort | retrospective descriptive analysis of fatal ground level falls and falls from a height a 5 year review |
| topic | Biomedical Forensic Science |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/37409 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT chonyerarumbidzailorrainestephanie aretrospectivedescriptiveanalysisoffatalgroundlevelfallsandfallsfromaheighta5yearreview AT chonyerarumbidzailorrainestephanie retrospectivedescriptiveanalysisoffatalgroundlevelfallsandfallsfromaheighta5yearreview |