The Factors Associated with Mothers’ Preventive Measures Against Home Accidents: A Descriptive Study from Istanbul, Turkey

Abstract

Objective: One of the most common causes of death among children in Turkey is accidents, and of this, 18-25% caused by home accidents. This study aims to identify the factors associated with safety measures against home accidents, that are taken by mothers who have children between 0-6 years of age. Methods: This descriptive study was conducted among the mothers who admitted to three Family Health Centers in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2017. The data was collected with a questionnaire including "The Scale for Mother's identification of Safety Measures Against Home Accidents for Children of 0-6 Years Age Group". The data was analyzed with SPSS program using Chi square, Mann Whitney-U and Spearman correlation tests (p<0,05 considered significant). 224 mothers participated in this study. Results: The most frequent home accidents were falling (48.9%), finger jam (36.6%) and crashing (30.6%). There was a weak positive correlation between the scale score and family's income (p=0.039; r=0.157); and a weak negative correlation between the scale score and child's age (p=0.001; r=-0.331). There was no association between education level of parents and safety measures. However, the scale scores were significantly higher among those who have specifically been educated about home accidents compared to those who haven't (p=0.013). Conclusion: The current education program may not be sufficient to prevent home accidents. We believe that specific courses about home accidents and safety measures are needed; even if these courses can be integrated to secondary school or university curricula it can be more beneficial.

Frequency of Home Accidents of Children Between 0-6 Years and Levels of Diagnosis of Mothers’ Safety Measures

“…The most common type of accident (37.4%) is falling by slipping or tripping over household items. Similarly, in other studies, the most common type of accident was found to be falling (13,(16)(17)(18)(19)(23)(24)(25). When the distribution of home accidents according to the age of the children is examined, the most frequent falls are falling from a height in the 1 age group, falling by tripping or slipping in the 2, 3 and 5 age groups, falling and hitting objects in the 4 age group, and cuts in the 6 age group.…”

“…This shows that the awareness of the mothers as a result of the experiences they have with their children is more important than the age and number of children. In other studies, no statistically significant difference was found between family type, income status, type of house, number of children living in the house, number of individuals living in the house, number of rooms in the house, child age groups, and mothers' total mean scores (17,25).…”

“…Alrimawi et al (2019) state that many environmental factors such as low economic status, the physical environment of the home, social environment (for example, fatalism) and political environment affect mothers' home accident prevention practices (33). In other studies, when the total score values of the mother's education levels are examined, it is stated that the probability of an accident decreases as the mother's education level increases (13,17,25,34). In some studies, it has been determined that the frequency of children having home accidents does not change according to the education level of the mothers (21,35).…”

Investigation of the Effect of Education Based on the Theory of Planned Behavior on the Mothers’ Preventive Practices Regarding Toddler Home Injuries

“…6 Preventing home injuries is an essential part of the child health care program, and one of the main responsibilities of parents and caregivers. 7 Parents' interventions can significantly decrease the possibility of unintentional injuries among children. 8 Using educational programs promotes mothers' awareness, attitude, and practices regarding injury prevention.…”

Effect of Education on Preventive Home Accident Practices by Mothers with Toddlers: Using the Theory of Planned Behavior

“…Preventing home injuries is an essential part of child care program and one of the main responsibilities of parents and caregivers (6). Parenting interventions can significantly decrease the possibility of unintentional injuries among children (7).…”