Mothers’ safety attitudes towards home accidents and their self-efficacy on first aid in 0–6 years old children

Abstract

Backround: The study was planned to evaluate the safety attitudes of mothers with children aged 0–6 years towards home accidents and their self-efficacy in first aid. Method: In this cross-sectional study, 438 mothers aged 18 years and older participated. Self-completed questionnaires, sociodemographic and home accident history questions, the Scale for Identifying Maternal Safety Precautions for Home Accidents in Children 0–6 Years of Age, and the First Aid Self-Efficacy in Home Accidents Scale were employed as data collection tools. Results: The study revealed that 35.2% of mothers with children aged 0–6 years reported experiencing at least one home accident. Among the reported incidents, it was found that 41.6% were attributed to falls, while 25.3% were related to burns, making them the most prevalent types of accidents. The mean attitude score of the women towards home accidents was 64.34 ± 15.03, and the mean total score of first aid knowledge was 27.14 ± 8.78. In our study, logistic regression analysis revealed that parents' employment status, having more than one child in the household, low-income level, and history of home accidents in the household increased the risk of experiencing home accidents for children. Conclusion: It was determined that mothers' safety precautions and first aid practices were inadequate. Education, employment status, and income level were found to affect safety and first-aid attitudes towards home accidents. When our results are evaluated, it is recommended to organize training for mothers about home accidents, safety precautions, and first aid practices.