According to recognized organizations in the fi eld of public health, namely WHO and UNICEF, protection of children’s and adolescents’ health should be regarded as a key issue in the health policy of every country. In medical terminology, an accident is an event which can, but does not have to lead to an injury.

In Poland and all over the world, injuries are the main cause of death of children, e.g.: for children aged 10 to 14 years – 47%, and for those aged 15 to 19 years – 65% of deaths are caused by injuries. Injuries caused by road accidents and drowning are the main cause of death in the younger group. School-aged children are often at risk of road accidents or bike accidents.

In the population of adolescents, aged 15 to 19 years, the highest risk of death as a result of an injury is observed. The main cause of death as a result of an injury and intoxication are falls and road accidents. It is also worth noting that in this age group we observe a rising number of suicides.

Research on health behaviour of school children and adolescents – HBSC clearly proves that the frequency of injuries which require and do not require medical help depends on sex, age and place of residence of an injured person. There is also a relation between the frequency of injuries and family and school situation, lifestyle, self-esteem and several factors describing mental health of students. Analysis of factors infl uencing occurrence of injuries among children and adolescents, allowed for noting the relationship between economic and welfare state of the country and injuries death rate – as confi rmed by listing of epidemiological factors connected with injuries in wealthy and developing countries. Raport Innocenti presents a list of 26 wealthiest countries according to death rate resulting from injuries among children aged 1 to 14 years. The data in Raport Innocenti indicate, that if other countries had the same index as Sweden (the lowest -5.2 deaths/100.000 children), we would be able to prevent 12000 deaths yearly.

Basing on the” Programme of Improvement of Medical Care in the Educational and Upbringing Environment” developed and introduced by the Centre of Public Health in Lublin, it should be said that the percentage of students who sustained injuries at school in the past years eases systematically. Injuries in the examined group of school-children were related mainly to fractures, luxations and sprains of lower and upper limbs, or head injuries. Accidents which caused injuries most often took place in school sports fi eld or gym.

Many countries undertake various prophylactic actions to prevent injuries among children and adolescents. It is a great challenge for the society, since it requires knowledge of different complex factors leading to an injury, as well as engaging many different institutions in order to reduce the frequency of injuries, and, in case of occurring injury, effective hospitalization leading to lower death rate.

Słowa kluczowe: accident, health behaviour, injury, intoxication, student, uczniowie, uraz, wypadek, zachowania zdrowotne, zatrucie