In a survey, 41% of French people say that at least one member of their household has been the victim of a daily accident (burns, falls, etc.) in the past 12 months.
More frequent than road accidents, domestic accidents are omnipresent in our lives. In exclusive survey carried out by Opinion Way for GEMA Prévention (1), almost one in two households (41%) declare that at least one family member has been the victim of a life-sustaining accident (AcVC) in the past twelve months. One in three French people also confides that they have been the victim of an AcVC themselves.
These accidents concern both adults and young people. 20% of parents report that one or more of their children have been victims for a year. Sports and leisure accidents are the most frequent. 9% of children are injured during these activities.
Burns at the top of the charts
But the most frequent accidents are burns suffered by 19% of people questioned (26% declare that this concerns at least one person in their household), followed by falls, cited by 11% of French people (18% at household level). , then do-it-yourself accidents (10% and 16% at household level) and sports and leisure accidents (8% and 15% at household level).
Burns and falls affect women more often than men, while DIY and sports and leisure accidents are the opposite.
The kitchen, the most dangerous room
Regarding high-risk places, 77% of French people, whose homes have been affected by an AcVC during the last twelve months, designate their home as the place of accident. Next come the sports arena (16%), the home of their relatives (13%), and the street (10%).
But above all, 62% of the people questioned declared that everyday accidents of which they were victims, themselves or their relatives, took place in the kitchen. We even reach 81% for burns! The other places most at risk are the garden, the bathroom, the stairs and corridors.
Medical care in 1 in 3 cases
After a daily accident in their home, more than one in three French people say that the first reaction was to call a health professional.
Consulting a general practitioner was the preferred solution (19%), before the hospital (18%) or the emergency number (11%). In cases of accidents involving children, 53% of victims consulted a health professional. The general practitioner in the lead (29%).
In the end, 14% of these accidents resulted in hospitalization. Accidents such as suffocation or electric shock have a much higher rate (35%).
Inform and raise awareness
Finally, 78% of French people who have experienced an everyday accident in their home believe that they could have avoided it.. 57% of those questioned consider that it was enough to be more attentive at the moment.
For Patrick Jacquot, President of GEMA Prévention, “with nearly one in two households affected by everyday accidents, it is urgent to continue all actions to raise awareness among the French on these still too underestimated risks. However, these accidents in the majority of cases are often avoidable thanks to simple reflexes ”. On thea Facebook page of the group “Les Mamans Assurant“, he recalls that” this scourge “kills 20,000 people each year in France.
Source: GEMA Prevention
(1) The study was conducted with a sample of 1,004 people, representative of the French population aged 18 and over and an oversample of parents, i.e. a total of 506 parents of children under 18. Interviews were conducted by self-administered online questionnaire from April 27 to May 4, 2016.
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