Prevalence of Home Accidents among Children Aged 1-4 and Its Association of Knowledge, Attitude and First Aid Practices of Mothers in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Injuries are a leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children worldwide and in Sri Lanka. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of home accidents among children aged 1-4 years and its association with knowledge, attitude, and first-aid practices of their mothers in the Medical Officer of Health (MOH) area, Bulathsinhala, Sri Lanka. A community-based descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among 309 mothers using cluster sampling. Data collected by interviewers using questionnaires were analysed in SPSS version 20. A majority (172, 55.7%) of the children were female. The prevalence of home accidents was 53.7% for three months (95% CI 47.6-59.3). One hundred and ten falls (35.6%, 95% CI 29.9-41.2), 32 (10.4%) cuts, 16 (5.2%) burns, 4 (1.3%) poisonings, 9 (2.9%) chokings, 11 (3.6%) cat/ dog bites, 15 (4.9%) scorpion/ centipede bites and 5 (1.6%) insect bites were reported. First-aid knowledge was good among 40.3% (95% CI=34.3-45.0) mothers, and the attitudes and practices were satisfactory. History of any type of home accident was not associated with overall first aid knowledge (χ2=0.045, p=.907). There was a significant association of a history of animal bites with overall first aid knowledge (χ2=4.456, p=.046) and with specific knowledge on animal bites (χ2=8.762, p=.003). Educating mothers and caregivers about first-aid and further research on risk factors for home accidents and factors affecting the first-aid competency of mothers is recommended.