TABLE II.
Phase 2: Patient Characteristics*
| Characteristic | Value |
|---|---|
| No. of patients | 52 |
| Age* (yr) | 42.6 ± 10.4 |
| Sex† | |
| Female | 21 (40%) |
| Male | 31 (60%) |
| District† | |
| Dowa | 1 (2%) |
| Lilongwe | 48 (92%) |
| Mzimba | 1 (2%) |
| Salima | 2 (4%) |
| Employment type†‡ | |
| Formal | 27 (52%) |
| Informal | 16 (31%) |
| Unemployed, retired, or student | 9 (17%) |
| Occupation† | |
| Farmer | 4 (8%) |
| Housewife | 1 (2%) |
| Laborer | 2 (4%) |
| Office worker | 1 (2%) |
| Other | 20 (38%) |
| Small-scale business | 16 (31%) |
| Student | 1 (2%) |
| Unemployed | 7 (13%) |
| Income level†§ | |
| 0 to 10,000 kwacha/month | 14 (27%) |
| 10,001 to 20,000 kwacha/month | 3 (6%) |
| 20,001 to 30,000 kwacha/month | 7 (13%) |
| 30,001 to 40,000 kwacha/month | 3 (6%) |
| 40,001 to 50,000 kwacha/month | 7 (13%) |
| >50,000 kwacha/month | 18 (35%) |
| Education level† | |
| No schooling | 4 (8%) |
| Primary grade 1 to 4 | 8 (15%) |
| Primary grade 5 to 8 | 13 (25%) |
| Secondary or above | 27 (52%) |
| Medical comorbidities† | |
| Hypertension | 5 (10%) |
| Asthma | 2 (4%) |
| Diabetes | 1 (2%) |
| None | 44 (85%) |
| Time since injury* (days) | 49.3 ± 60.6 |
| Mechanism of injury† | |
| Other | 6 (12%) |
| Assault | 1 (2%) |
| Fall | 26 (50%) |
| Road traffic collision | 19 (37%) |
| Laterality† | |
| Left | 24 (46%) |
| Right | 28 (54%) |
| Neurovascular status† | |
| Intact | 49 (94%) |
| Sensory deficit | 1 (2%) |
| Vascular injury | 2 (4%) |
| Open fracture† | 8 (15%) |
| Referred to KCH† | 27 (52%) |
| Christian Health Association of Malawi hospital | 7 (26%) |
| District hospital | 8 (30%) |
| Health center | 11 (41%) |
| Other | 1 (4%) |
The values are given as the mean and the standard deviation.
The values are given as the number of patients, with the percentage in parentheses.
Formal employment is registered, regulated, and protected by a country’s existing legal or regulatory framework. Formal workers have work contracts, benefits, social protection, and workers’ representation. In contrast, informal employment is defined as self-employment or wage employment that is not registered, regulated, or legally protected. Informal workers do not have formal work contracts, benefits, social protection, or workers’ representation. Informal workers face higher risks of poverty than workers in the formal economy30.
10,000 Malawian kwacha ≈ $13.60 in U.S. dollars.