The Effect of Home Safety Education Program Given to Mothers with Children with Intellectual Disability on Their Attitudes towards Safety Measures for Home Accidents

Abstract

Purpose: To determine the effect of the Home Safety Education Program given to mothers with children with intellectual disability on their attitudes towards safety measures. Methods: This study, in a single group semi-experimental design, was carried out in a Special Education Application Center in 2020 (n= 29 mothers). The Scale for Mother’s Identification of Safety Measures against Home Accidents was used as data collection tool in the study. The Home Safety Education Program, consisting of 3 sessions for 2 weeks, was applied to the participants for home accidents. Descriptive statistics and Wilcoxon signed rank test were used to analyze the data. Results: Sixty-five percent of children with intellectual disability have had a home accident in the last year. The most common type of home accident is falling with 51.7%. A statistically significant difference was observed between the pre-education and post-education attitude scores regarding safety measures for home accidents of the mothers (Z= 4.704, p<0.001). Conclusion: The study shows that mothers with children with intellectual disability can learn the necessary information and gain a positive attitude to keep their children safe in the home environment.