Knowledge and attitudes of schoolchildren about the prevention of accidents

Abstract

Accidents are frequent in childhood because of the lower risk perception and greater vulnerability to disasters. This study aimed to analyze the knowledge and attitudes of schoolchildren concerning the prevention of accidents and associated factors. This is a cross-sectional and quantitative study conducted in November and December/2017 in Simão Dias, Sergipe, Bra-zil. Ninety-seven schoolchildren aged between 7 and 9 years of age from a sample calculation were evaluated through interviews with representative images. The results showed that little more than half of the children consider the use of personal protective equipment as a way of preventing injuries in case of accidents (58.8%; n=57), and is infrequent among those with low education level (PR: 0.66; 95%CI: 0.16-0.99). The knowledge or use of this equipment was 60.8% (n=59) for safety belt, 54.6% (n=53) for helmet, 47.4% (n=46) for knee pad and 40.2% (n=39) for elbow support. Regarding attitudes, 20.6% (n=20) answered that there is no problem putting their (unwashed) hand on the wound and 12.4% (n=12) crossing the street accompanied without an adult. It was concluded that the knowledge and attitudes of schoolchildren concerning the prevention of accidents are misguided.