Perceptions of accident, experience and also knowledge, attitude, behaviours about children household accidents of the parents whose children had an household injury: A qualitative study

Introduction: Household accidents are injuries which can happen inside or around the house, like garden or garage. Children, elders and people with physical, mental and social disabilities are the most important risk groups. Because these incidents are frequent, can cause deaths and injuries and can be preventable, they are still an important public health issue. The purpose of this research is to identify the accident percepsion of parents whose children had an household injury, level of knowledge, source of information and suggestions on this matter, also draw attention to the duties of the primary care doctors on these preventable childhood household injuries. Material and Methods: This thesis was planned as a qualitative study, which consist of the interviews with the parents whose children were hospitalised due to hosehold injuries between 01.05.2017-31.12.2017 at pediatric surgery clinics of Gazi University Falcuty of Medicine and Dr. Sami Ulus Research and Education Hospital. In the interwievs, an interview form consisting of open-ended questions was used, which was created by searching the related literature. All interviews were conducted face to face, using in-depth interview techniques. Results: This study included 21 parents of 22 children receiving inpatient treatment for household accidents. Since two siblings were affected at the same time in an accident due to the ingestion of corrosive substances, a common interview was conducted with the mother of the two siblings. Of the 21 parents interviewed, 19 were women and 2 were men, thus consisting of mothers and fathers. Of the 22 children that were injured due to home accidents, 15 (68.1%) were male and 7 (31.8%) were female. The youngest of the injured children was 9 months old, the oldest was 3 years and 6 months old, and the mean age was 1 year and 10 months. A total of 22 cases of household accidents were included in the study, of which 4 were falling, 8 were foreign body aspiration/ingestion and 10 were corrosive substance intake. While 19 of the parents who participated in the study indicated that the accidents could be prevented. Two parents stated that the accidents couldn't be prevented. Conclusion: In our study we encountered important accident factors such as lack of knowledge of parents, lack of attention, risky behavior, entrusting small children to their siblings that are only a few years older, not being able to ensure control while visiting friends and inadequate home security tools. It was seen that the most decisive factor in the measures taken by parents was their own experiences with domestic accidents and what they have heard from their surroundings. Besides, the erroneous practices that could cause even more harm to the child after the accident are noteworthy. To prevent an accident, it is necessary to predict the accident, determine the risk factors, and take correct and effective measures. For this there should be an accident statistic that include various types of information such as type of accident, type of incidence, frequency, which accidents occur more often in which age group and their results. This data will provide information about accident precautions, will show how effective the measures are over time are and how much of these accidents we can prevent. Information on accidents that cause injuries in children, necessary precautions to be taken and the practices that should/shouldn't be done after an accident should be given by family physicians and other health workers in primary care health centers. This matter should be explained again to the parents during vaccination follow-ups and awareness must be raised by distributing brochures and by giving examples from occurred home accidents. This should not only be limited to parents, but should be extended to other family members, family elders, child care workers and all institutions providing care and education for children. We believe that the most effective solution to this issue can be achieved when the state and non-governmental organizations share the responsibility. Key words: child, household accidents, household injuries, qualitative study