ملخص الدراسة:

War-related injury is a major public health concern, and a leading cause of mortality, morbidity, and_x000D__x000D_
disability globally, particularly in low and middle-income countries such as Palestine. Little is known about the burden_x000D__x000D_
of war-related injury in the Palestinian context. The objective of this study was to characterize the incidence and_x000D__x000D_
pattern of injuries, associated with war in Gaza Strip, from July 8 to August 26, 2014._x000D__x000D_
Methods: This was a descriptive study based on an injury registry at hospital facilities in the Gaza Strip. A total of 420_x000D__x000D_
victims records from 2014 Gaza war injuries were randomly selected, proportionate to the size of the study population_x000D__x000D_
estimated across five Gaza governorates. Simple descriptive statistics were calculated to explore the frequency and_x000D__x000D_
percentage distribution of study variables and injury data. A chi-square test (X2) was used. The significance level was_x000D__x000D_
derived at p < 0.05. The data were analyzed by IBM SPSS software, version 23._x000D__x000D_ Results: Males (75.5%) have experienced more war-related injuries than females (24.5%), constituting a male: female ratio_x000D__x000D_ of 3.1:1. Almost half (49.5%) of the injured victims were of the age group 20–39, followed by children and adolescents_x000D__x000D_ (< 20 years), accounting for 31.4%. More than half of victims were single (53.6%), 44.3% were married and the rest were_x000D__x000D_ widowed or divorced. The overall number of injuries was 6.4 per 1000 population, though it varied among regions. North_x000D__x000D_ Gaza reported the highest number of injuries (9.0) and Rafah the lowest (4.7) per 1000 population. Blast and explosion_x000D__x000D_ were found to be the most common causes of war injuries (72.9%). The highest proportion of injuries were reported in_x000D__x000D_ the upper body. Multiple body shrapnel wounds and burns (39.3%) were most frequent. Other types of injuries were_x000D__x000D_ multiple organ injury (24.3%), fractures (13.6%), internal organ injury and bleeding (9.8%), amputation (4.5%), abrasions_x000D__x000D_ /lacerations and contusions (4.8%), vision or hearing loss or both (1.9%) and respiratory problems (1.9%). The highest_x000D__x000D_ percentage of injuries were classified as mild (46.9%), and the rest ranged from moderate-to-severe. Almost 26% of_x000D__x000D_ individuals had sustained disability, and most of them had physical/motor impairment._x000D__x000D_ Conclusion: War-related injuries constitute a major problem to public health discipline and clinical medicine as well. A_x000D__x000D_ better surveillance system using ICD codes, and development of a comprehensive electronic data network are necessary_x000D__x000D_ to make future research easier and more timely. توثيق المرجعي (APA)