Home delivery of an injury prevention kit for children in four French cities: a controlled randomized trial

Abstract

Objectives:Home delivery of counselling and safety devices to prevent child injuries could help parents to adopt safe behaviour. The aim of this study was to test a safety kit designed and used in Quebec (Canada).Design and subjects:One hundred families from four towns in the Paris suburbs were visited at home by nurses or doctors when their child reached 6–9 months. Selection criteria were: primipara, medical problem, psychological, and/or socioeconomic difficulties.Interventions:During the first visit, 50 families (group 1) received counselling and a kit including preventive devices and pamphlets about indoor injuries and ways to avoid them. The other 50 families (group 2) received counselling but not the kit. A second home visit was made 6–8 weeks later.Main outcome measures:The number of safety improvements was calculated 6–8 weeks after a first home visit. Perceived usefulness of the kit was collected from families and from interviewers.Results:Between the first and the second visits, safety improvement was significantly higher in the group with the kit. This was mainly related to the risk of fall (p<0.02), fire and burns (p<0.001), poisoning (p<0.01), and suffocation (p<0.001). For improvement related to devices provided in the kit, the difference between the groups was significant: 64.4% improvement in group 1 versus 41.2% in group 2 (p<0.01). The relative risk (RR) of safety improvement between groups was 1.56 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.35 to 1.80). Even for improvements not related to the kit the difference remained significant: 31.2% in group 1 versus 20.2% in group 2 (p<0.05); RR = 1.54 (95% CI 1.22 to 1.93).Conclusion:Routine home visits by social services offer a good opportunity to tackle child injury prevention. Free delivery of prevention kits and counselling allow families to modify their behaviour and homes so as to reduce risks.

Unintentional injuries in the home environment: home safety

“…Estudos da última década identificam potenciais em ações de prevenção 69 , mesmo que haja poucas evidênci-as de redução de injúrias através da utilização de meios como campanhas e doação de equipamentos de proteção [70][71][72][73] . As abordagens que reforçam a necessidade do papel ativo dos pais e responsáveis trouxeram resultados modestos na redução de injúrias 74 .…”

As injúrias não intencionais no ambiente domiciliar: a casa segura

“…Studies carried out in the last decade indicated potential preventive measures, 69 even if scant evidence exists regarding the reduction of injuries by means of campaigns and donation of protective equipment. [70][71][72][73] The approaches that underscore the necessity of an active role of parents and surrogates reduced injuries moderately.…”

The evaluation of two different parental training methods on maternal awareness and home safety behaviors for childhood injury prevention

“…Further, implementation of home visits to safety training programs may lead an additional counseling chance for minimizing the hazards in the home. In fact, some previous studies indicate that education programs adapted home visit was effective to decrease the rate of home injuries and injury risks (18,19). We implemented home visits in order to not only identify home safety behaviors of the mothers but also to give counseling to them about injury risks in the home, the appropriate safety products and practices.…”