Interventions to reduce accidents in childhood: a systematic review

Abstract

Objective: To review the literature on interventions planned to prevent the incidence of injuries in childhood. Source of data: The PubMed, Web of Science, and Bireme databases were searched by two independent reviewers, employing the single terms accidents, accident, injuries, injury, clinical trial, intervention, educational intervention, and multiple interventions, and their combinations, present in the article title or abstract, with no limits except period of publication (2006–2016) and studies in human subjects. Synthesis of data: Initially, 11,097 titles were located. Fifteen articles were selected for the review. Eleven were randomized trials (four carried out at the children's households, five in pediatric healthcare services, and two at schools), and four were non-randomized trials carried out at the children's households. Four of the randomized trials were analyzed by intention-to-treat and a protective effect of the intervention was observed: decrease in the number of risk factors, decrease in the number of medical consultations due to injuries, decrease in the prevalence of risk behaviors, and increase of the parents’ knowledge regarding injury prevention in childhood. Conclusion: Traumatic injuries in childhood are amenable to primary prevention through strategies that consider the child's age and level of development, as well as structural aspects of the environment.