Evaluation of home accident frequency between 0-6 years old children and parents' knowledge and attitudes about home accidents in Kayapinar district of Diyarbakir

Introduction and Aim: Accidents, the majority of which can be prevented, are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality in children. In the 0-6 years age group, in particular, the vast majority of accidents occur in the home or surroundings. Therefore, the knowledge and awareness of parents or caregivers of great importance in the prevention of accidents. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate the frequency of home accidents in children aged 0-6 in Diyarbakir Kayapınar district, the attitudes of parents during home accidents and their level of knowledge about home accidents. Material-Method: The research is a cross-sectional type study and was conducted between June and November 2022, among parents who have children aged 0-6 years living in Diyarbakir Kayapınar district. The data were obtained through face-to-face interviews using the "Descriptive Form of Families' Socio-Demographical Characteristics and Practices" and "The Scale for Diagnosing Mother's Safety Precautions for Home Accidents in 0-6 Years Old Children". SPSS for Windows version 20.0 package program was used for necessary statistical analysis. Ethical approval and administrative permissions were obtained in writing to conduct the study. Results: The mean age of the mothers participating in the study was 34.41±6.9, the mean age of the fathers was 38.23±7.5, the number of people living at home was 4.46±1.43 and the number of people living at home was 2.31±1.19. 49.2% of the mothers had a university or higher education, and 43% were illiterate. 60.3% of the mothers were not working and 39.7% were working mothers. Of 390 families, 334 (88.2%) were nuclear family type. The number of families who stated that their child had had a home accident at least once was 178 (45.6%). Falls were in the first rank with 162 (71%) accident types. home accidents; It was reported that it occurred mostly at 123 (54%) at noon and at least 7 (3.07%) at night. When families were asked about the precautions they took; keeping the bathroom and bathtub floor dry at all times was one of the most common precautions taken by the families, 64.4% (n=251). A statistically significant difference was found between the education level of the mother and the presence of home accidents (p<0.05). Among the families with home accidents, 57.3% (n=102) of the mothers had a university or higher education; In 42.5% (n=90) of families without home accidents, mothers had a university or higher education. In the group where the poisoning event occurred, the number of people living at home (5.13 ± 0.35) was statistically significantly higher than the number of people (4.44 ± 0.07) in the houses without the poisoning event. In the group where the poisoning event occurred, the number of children living at home (3.13 ± 0.35) was statistically significantly higher than the number of children (2.29 ± 0.06) in the homes without poisoning. Conclusion: More than half of the families participating in the study experienced that their children had a home accident. Since children are at the beginning of life, every attempt should be made to protect their health. It is recommended to use mass media to increase parents' knowledge and awareness about home accidents and safety measures to be taken against home accidents. Families should be informed about the safety measures that can be taken at home and the first aid practices that can be done in case of accidents despite these measures. Keywords: Childhood, Parents, Home Accidents, Injury, Knowledge, Attitude