Maternal Knowledge and Attitude about Home related Injuries in Children under Five Years

Abstract

Background: Children's home related injuries are considered a community health problem. They are the leading cause of death for children under the age of five. Thousands of people are permanently injured every year as a result of them. The majority of these incidents can be avoided by raising awareness, improving the home climate, and improving product safety Objectives: To assess mothers’ knowledge and attitude about home related injuries and its predisposing factors for children less than five years Methods: This cross-sectional was carried out from 1st of March to the end of May 2019, among six hundred twenty-eight mothers attending outpatient pediatric clinics (OPC); Beni-Suef University hospital for follow-up visits of their children. Three parts structured questionnaire was used aiming to analyze demographic data, measure the percentage and types home injuries, maternal knowledge and attitude about causes of home accidents in children. Results: home related injuries among children under five years of age were 42.4%; amongst which cut wounds represented 51.1%. As regard maternal knowledge about first aid measures; 16.6% were not knowledgeable. Maternal knowledge scores revealed that 78% of respondents perceived the risk and 8.6% did not perceive the risk. Maternal attitude scores revealed a 92.7% indifferent attitude score and 0.6% positive, attitude score. Regression analysis, showed that mother's attitude towards home injuries were significantly affected by: mother's educational level, being a worker and reading books about first aid (P<0.05). Conclusions: Mothers perceived the risk about childhood home related injuries and their attitude scores were indifferent.