Abstract
Objective The aim of this study was to find out the extent of safety measures taken by mothers to prevent serious injuries to their pre-school children in the home, and the factors that influence mothers' behaviour in taking these safety measures.
Design A self-completion questionnaire based on a Five Level Likert Scale was used in the study.
Setting Respondents were mothers with pre-school children througout the state of Kuwait.
Methods 550 questionnaires were personally distributed to, and colected from, a random sampling of college students and their families, employees in selected ministries and companies, and to attendees at selected gatherings.
Results 510 fully completed questionnaires were returned. Mothers were most safety conscious in the bathroom and in preventing children from falling, least aware of hazards in the living room, and had modeate use of safety measures in respect of hazards in the child's bedroom and prevention of burns and poisoning. Correlation of these results with demographic data showed the mother's educational level, number of children, age, marital status, residential status and occupational status all influenced the degree of use of safety measures.
Conclusion Emphasis should be given to the several safety measures found to be not used by a significant number of mothers, and each such measure should be advocated separately. Mothers with lesser education, student mothers, mothers with larger families, and widowed or divorced mothers should be especially targeted.
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