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Abstract
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Home is where the heart is. Ironically, the home is also where most childhood injuries happen, making child safety a global public health challenge.(1,2) In Singapore, the prevalence of childhood injury is 7.7-19.5%, with childhood injuries the leading cause of death in children between 5-14 years old.(3,4) Previous reviews suggest that home injuries constitute 45-91% of childhood injuries and that 10-37% of children's emergency department visits in Singapore are injury-related.(3,5)
A 2015 Singapore Medical Journal editorial on childhood injury emphasised that prevention is better than cure.(6) Other studies have suggested that educational programmes on home safety and equipment may reduce injury rates, especially when relationships are formed between healthcare professionals and parents.(4,7-12) Physicians themselves have highlighted the need to champion injury prevention.(13)
Effective injury prevention requires understanding factors which influence behaviour. Previous studies have cited facilitators of injury prevention, such as safety equipment, learning from experience and education, and identified barriers including lack of knowledge, parental fatigue and equipment cost.(14-16) A Singapore study revealed that caregivers had poor knowledge on home safety, suggesting a need for caregiver education.(17) While epidemiology, risk factors and prevention strategies have been studied, and indeed the importance of child safety advocacy is clear, parental perspectives and experiences are less frequently explored, particularly within an Asian context.
In response, this qualitative research study aims to understand these perspectives, so that health policy can be better designed to address knowledge gaps, with the long-term goal of reducing childhood injuries in Singapore homes.
Language: en |