Abstract:Objective To investigate the occurrence status and epidemiological characteristics of elderly injuries in Hunan province from 2015 to 2017, and to provide a basis for primary prevention of elderly injuries. Methods We collected the data regarding elderly patients with injuries initially visited in sentinel surveillance hospitals from January 1, 2015 to December 31, 2017. And then descriptive epidemiological methods were used to analyze the data. Results A total of 16,151 elderly cases of injury were monitored in the sentinel surveillance hospitals in Hunan province during 2015-2017, including 13,476 (83.44%) cases reported by urban surveillance sites and 2,675 (16.56%) cases reported by rural surveillance sites. The ratio of male to female was 1.01∶1. The top three causes of elderly injuries were falls (53.33%), traffic injury by motor vehicles (19.45%) and knife/sharp instrument injury (6.70%). The proportion of falls increased with the increasing age, whereas the proportion of motor vehicle traffic accidents decreased. The injury cases mainly occurred at home (46.67%) and on roads/streets (29.74%). The most common injury was bruise(35.95%), followed by fractures (28.66%) and sharp/bite/open injuries (14.89%). The severities of injuries were mainly mild(58.29%) and moderate (36.67%). Conclusions The major causes of elderly injuries in Hunan province in 2015-2017 were falls and motor vehicle traffic accidents. Corresponding prevention and intervention measures should be formulated to reduce the occurrence of elderly injuries.