Introduction
Burn injuries can have a significant and lifelong impact on not only patient, but also their family and friends. Many burn injuries are preventable.
Waikato Hospital is one of the four regional burn units in New Zealand and includes a wider catchment area than the Waikato District Health Board region. It also services the surrounding district health boards of Bay of Plenty, Lakes, Tairawhiti and Taranaki, which is more than 900,000 people (Census 2018). The Waikato region has a higher proportion of people that identify as New Zealand Maori when compared to the total population of New Zealand.
Objectives
The aim of our study was to determine whether there was a disproportionate number of NZ Maori patients presenting with acute burn injuries to the burn unit at Waikato Hospital in order to determine a target population for intervention.
Method
We conducted a retrospective study of acute burn presentations to Waikato Hospital from December 2012 to January 2021 entered into the ANZBA registry. Repeat presentations were excluded from the analysis.
Results
In total, there were 1060 acute burn presentations to the Regional Burns Unit at Waikato Hospital from December 2012 to January 2021. 39.6% of acute burn patients identified as New Zealand Maori and of the 0-4 year age group, 48.8% are NZ Maori. The cause of burn injuries in 0 to 4 year olds was similar in NZ Maori patients compared to the total population.
Conclusions
There is a disproportionate number of NZ Maori patients presenting to Waikato Hospital Regional Burns Unit when compared to the NZ Maori population. This inequality is the most concerning in the 0 to 4 year old group. The results of this study has allowed us to identify a population in which we can aim to target with interventions to reduce acute burn injuries.