Maternal Knowledge and Awareness of Preventive Measures for Domestic Accidents Among Children in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Background: Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of childhood injuries and result in thousands of deaths annually. However, children are at higher risk due to their increased curiosity and the time they spend at home. This study aimed to assess maternal knowledge regarding preventive measures for household injuries, including their frequency and severity.
Method: Using an electronic, self-administered questionnaire, this cross-sectional study assessed the knowledge and awareness of 433 mothers of children aged 1 to 12 years in our population between March 22 and July 31, 2023. Participants' awareness levels were the main outcome.
Results: Of the participants, 54% reported that their children had experienced domestic injuries. The most frequently reported injuries were falls, burns, and wounds caused by sharp objects. Moreover, more than 50% of the children needed to visit the emergency department, of whom 10% required hospitalization. Regarding the awareness level score, 55% of mothers had moderate knowledge of home-related injuries. Furthermore, attending first-aid courses and other health education programs predicted higher awareness scores among the mothers.
Conclusions: More than half of the children in our study population had injuries that had occurred recently or in previous years. There was a significant discrepancy between the mothers' reported knowledge and their safety practices.
Competing Interests: Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Unit of Biomedical Ethics Research Ethics Committee (REC), King Abdulaziz University issued approval 186-23. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.
(Copyright © 2024, Alhadrami et al.)