(MENAFN- Muscat Daily) Burn injuries are a major public health issue in Oman and urgent prevention programmes are needed to address this ‘silent and costly epidemic'.
A study that reviewed 25 years of burns cases that required hospitalisation at the Khoula Hospital's National Burns Unit calls for a more focussed approach by healthcare givers in managing such injuries and raising public awareness.
Speaking to Muscat Daily, Sultan al Shaqsi, house surgeon and burns researcher at Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, New Zealand and lead researcher of the study said, ''Burns are a neglected epidemic in Oman and we need to adopt more preventative public health measures. It is too early to focus on rehab facilities and neglect preventing burns to start with. Children of our nation have no education about burn prevention. Likewise, mothers and housemaids have no training on risks of burns. Let's not talk about rehab facilities, and focus more on how can we prevent burns.''
Like in many other parts of the world, in Oman too, burns have been given low priority in public health prevention policy as road accidents are considered a more important cause of death and disability, says the study.
‘This has been reflected in the Omani Ministry of Health's five-year plan which has 30 domains including one on injuries; however, there is no mention of burns management or prevention in this domain. This is possibly due to the lack of information regarding the magnitude and severity of the burns problem in Oman,' the study states.
Another finding of Shaqsi was that the majority of severe burns in Oman were in children. These findings raise questions regarding childcare and the need for prevention programmes.
‘It is important to conduct an in-depth study to assess the true magnitude and risk factors for burns in Oman. Children are the most affected population group, and this may be the tip of the iceberg that warrants a careful investigation of child rights in Oman,' states the study.
The annual incidence of burns requiring hospitalisation in Oman is estimated to be around 4,000 patients per year. Furthermore, for each patient admitted to the National Burns Unit, the estimated cost was around RO16,000–RO30,000. This cost does not take into account the intangible toll of the psychological and societal trauma, particularly in children, that may result from burn injuries.
On how the cost involved can be brought down, Shaqsi said, ''The best way to bring cost down is prevention, prevention and prevention. This article is of great significance, not only because of the scarcity of peer-reviewed publications from Oman in the medical literature, but also because it highlights a critical issue that is not currently on the top priority list of health issues in the country.''
The study points out that there are two main issues to be learnt from such a publication: First, that burns are a hidden epidemic in Oman, and second, that local scientific research ought to be the driving force behind national policies on healthcare quality. ''We all have been calling for a national database and research, but policy makers have their priorities mixed up,'' concluded Shaq
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