Abstract
Fifty per cent of all childhood injuries, and 75% of those amongst children aged under five years, occur in private homes. In 1989 a random survey of 1050 Brisbane households was conducted to investigate their home injury risk profile and the knowledge, attitudes and beliefs of their residents. The survey comprised a personal interview with the householder and a visual assessment of the interior and exterior of the household. This paper summarises key results of the visual assessments and describes community knowledge, attitudes and beliefs regarding home safety. The paper argues that household home safety surveys are useful and necessary adjuncts to local injury surveillance collections. We give three examples of how they can contribute to the reduction of childhood home injury.
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