In the past most major accidents resulted in death, but today there is a dramatic increase in the number of people who survive such accidents but who are left with permanent injury. Particularly, children who are inquisitive about their surroundings but immature in their ability to assess danger, are more vulnerable to accidents and their causes as well as to determine attitudes towards prevention. The main objective of the study was to assess the effectiveness of using an accident prevention manual for accident for accident prevention education.
The study was a quasi-experimental study using a questionnaire format. The subjects of the study were 393 mothers of children attending six day care centers in Seoul. Data collection was done between May 1 and June 15, 1997. The tools used for the study were a questionnaire developed the researchers and a manual for accident prevention. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS. The results of the study are as follows:
1. Types of accidents included stabbing, burns, falls from heights, choking, falls on slippery surfaces, traffic accidents, drowning, poisoning, and electrical shock in that order of frequency.
2. The main causes of accidents in children were from cosmetics and household medications.
3. The most frequent locations of accidents in the home were the bathroom, kitchen, and stairways in that order.
4. For 90.4% of children safety seats were not used when the ridding in a car.
5. In examining the parents´ accident prevention practices, it was found that many parents used only one electrical outlet for many appliances, tending to overload the electricity lines and that they were not practically concerned about the flammability of children´s pajamas, indicating a less than positive attitude towards fire prevention.
6. The parents had not provided their children with any instruction on accident prevention or on what to do after an accident had occurred.
7. After the use of pamphlet in an accident prevention education program, it was found that there was a statistically significant difference in the degree to which children carried out safety measures (t=14.96, p=.000) and in their safety habits (t=-1.67, p<.1) indicating an effectiveness in this method of education.
The results of this study showed that there are many things in a child´s environment that can cause accidents and that the possibility of an accident occurring is high. So nurses looking after children should be aware of the need for safety education to prevent accidents in the home and plan to provide appropriate educational material to help parents with this education.
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