Child Injuries in Lebanon: Assessing Mothers Injury Prevention Knowledge Attitude and Practices – A Cross Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Childhood injury is a neglected public health problem. This study aims to describe the patterns of childhood injury and to determine mothers' Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) towards childhood injury prevention in Lebanon. Methods This cross-sectional study recruited working and non-working mothers of children aged 0-10 years from multiple sites (i.e. medical center, private clinic, healthcare facility, refugee camp) to cover all socioeconomic backgrounds. A self-administrated questionnaire collected data on mothers' KAP toward childhood injuries. We analyzed the data and performed a summation score calculation for KAP correct answers. Results A total of 264 mothers were surveyed and injury data were collected on their 464 children. The prevalence of childhood injury was 20% in the past 12 months, mostly sustained by males (53.8%) aged 5-10 years (38.7%). The most common injury type was fall (48.4%), followed by burns (7.5%) and sports injuries (7.5%). Hospitalized injured children were more likely to be males and older than 5 years. More than one-third of the mothers demonstrated poor knowledge, while the majority showed poor practice (54.4%) and a fair attitude (45.6%) towards child injury prevention. Children of working mothers have 3 times higher odds of sustaining injuries (OR:2.95, 95% CI: 1.60;5.47) compared to those of non-working mothers. Conclusion Childhood injury is a major health problem that overburdens the young population, yet mothers lack preventive knowledge and adequate preparedness. Educational programs are recommended for mothers and caregivers. Further studies are needed to understand the cultural context and identify effective strategies for preventing childhood injuries.

Anticipatory Guidance in Childhood Safety: How do Parents Fare? A Survey from a Tertiary Hospital

“…Comparing our study with the study conducted by Al-Hajj S et al [10] in Lebanon, it is found that the respondents were slightly older than the present study population (32.7 vs.28.8 years). The education levels were also higher in their study with more than 56.9% having a university degree as compared to 34.5% in the present study.…”

Knowledge and Practice of Mothers Regarding First aids of Home Injuries Among Preschool Children

“…On the same way, study done by Al-Hajj et al (13) in Lebanon indicating that mothers had poor knowledge about different aspects of home accidents.…”

“…Similarly, Anwar et al (16) carried out study in Beni-Suef showing that mother age was significant predictor of knowledge score. On the contrary, Al-Johani et al (13) done study in EL-Madinah City revealed that parent's ages were not significantly associated with their knowledge.…”

“…Similarly, Al-Hajj et al (13) found more than half of mothers had poor practice about home accidents. On the other hand, a study conducted by Nor and Sutan (19) in Malaysia declared the majority of mothers practiced good in practice of home i9njuries.…”