Citation

Callaghan JA, Hyder AA, Khan R, Blum LS, Arifeen S, Baqui AH. J. Epidemiol. Community Health 2010; 64(7): 645-647.

Affiliation

International Injury Research Unit, Department of International Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, BMJ Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1136/jech.2008.080903

PMID

20547700

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Injuries are an increasing child health concern and have become a leading cause of child mortality in the 1-4 years age group in many developing countries, including Bangladesh. METHODS: Household observations during 9 months of a community-based pilot of two supervision tools-a door barrier and a playpen-designed to assess their community acceptability in rural Bangladesh are reported in this article. RESULTS: Statistical analysis of 2694 observations revealed that children were directly supervised or protected by a preventive tool in 96% of visits. Households with a supervision tool had a significantly lower proportion of observations with the child unsupervised and unprotected than households without a tool. Families that received a playpen had 6.89 times the odds of using it at the time of the visit than families that received a door barrier. CONCLUSIONS: Interventions such as the playpen, when introduced to households through community-based programs, are accepted by parents. Field trials are urgently needed to establish the effectiveness of barrier-based interventions at reducing under-five drowning mortality rates in low-income countries like Bangladesh.

Language: en