Citation

Mulvaney CA, Watson MC, Smith S, Errington G. Int. J. Health Promot. Educ. 2013; 51(6): 312-322.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2013, Institute of Health Education)

DOI

10.1080/14635240.2013.830452

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

Unintentional injury is a major public health issue across the world. The home is the most common location for unintentional injuries for young children, with children living in socio-economically deprived circumstances most at risk of injury. The provision of home safety education, with or without the provision of free or low-cost safety equipment, has been shown to improve home safety practices undertaken by parents. An evaluation was undertaken of a home safety equipment running in north-east England. A randomly selected sample of families participating in the scheme was sent a questionnaire and data were sought on home safety practices, possession and use of home safety equipment and satisfaction with the equipment scheme. The majority of families (87.9%) reported never drinking hot drinks while holding a child and 96.2% reported almost always keeping medicines locked away. Many families (88.3%) reported that they never leave their children in the bath alone. Of families with children under one year, only just over a third (37.4%) said they never use a baby walker. Satisfaction with the scheme was generally very high. While the prevalence of many safety practices was reportedly high in families, this survey found deficiencies particularly in use of baby walkers and storage of cleaning products. Surveys identifying prevalence data on parental safety practices are essential for evaluating and informing future interventions.