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Introduction/Objective. Unintentional injuries is a global health issue among children and adolescents. The aim of this study was to examine the characteristics of unintentional injuries divided according to different age groups and sex among the children and adolescents who have been hospitalized in public hospitals of the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Methods. A retrospective analysis of the e-base of the Agency for Certification, Accreditation and Health Care Quality Improvement of the Republic of Srpska data were collected from 10 public hospitals for patients aged ≤ 19 years, who have been hospitalized for unintentional injuries in the period of January 2018 and December 2020. Results. The study identified 1336 patients who were hospitalized for unintentional injuries, most of whom were boys (67.4%). Falls were the most frequent cause of hospitalization in children of all age categories (aged 1 (70.6%), 1–4 (59.1%), 5–9 (68.5%)) and adolescents aged 10–14 (64.1%), while road traffic injuries were the leading cause of hospitalization in adolescents aged 15–19 (62.6%). The cause of injury for the hospitalized patients were significantly related to age (p < 0.001) and sex (p < 0.05) groups. According to the nature of the injury in relation to the area of the body, the most frequent injuries were to the head (41.1%), caused by traffic accidents and falls. Conclusion. Since falls and road traffic injuries were the leading causes of hospitalization, preventive measures should be taken to reduce the frequency of these injuries.

Background/Aim: Unintentional injuries among children and adolescents have become a common issue in public healthcare. The study objective was to analyse the characteristics and identify predictors associated with unintentional injuries in children and adolescents treated in emergency medical services (EMS) in the Republic of Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Methods: A cross-section study with retrospective analysis of WebMedic e-database from 14 EMS, in the period between January 2018 and December 2020 was conducted. Research included patients with unintentional injuries, aged ≤ 19 years, of both sexes. For comparison between groups, Chi-squared and multivariate logistic regression were used in risk factor analysis. Results: A total of 1,856 cases were identified, most injuries resulted from falls (46.7 %) and traffic injuries (26.9 %). Boys were significantly more affected by injuries than girls (p < 0.001). Falls were the major cause for reporting to EMS among age groups of children (0-9 years) and adolescents (10-14 years), whereas injuries in traffic were dominant in adolescents aged 15 to 19. The most common injuries were head injuries (35.7 %). Risk factors of unintentional injuries were age (p < 0.001), sex (p = 0.046), weekday (p = 0.016), winter (p = 0.014), body region (head, abdomen, lower and upper limbs (p < 0.001), thorax (p = 0.009)). Conclusions: There were significant differences in characteristics of unintentional injuries according to age and sex. Chances for occurrence of unintentional injuries among children increased with their age, especially for boys. These differences might indicate areas where preventive measures should be undertaken.