Approaches used by parents to keep their children safe at home: a qualitative study to explore the perspectives of parents with children aged under five years
BACKGROUND: Childhood unintentional injury represents an important global health problem. Many unintentional injuries experienced by children aged under 5years occur within the home and are preventable. The aim of this study was to explore the approaches used by parents of children under five in ord...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
BioMed Central
2015
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30528/ |
| _version_ | 1848794003111149568 |
|---|---|
| author | Ablewhite, Joanne McDaid, Lisa Hawkins, Adrian Peel, Isabel Goodenough, Trudy Deave, Toity Stewart, Jane Watson, Michael Kendrick, Denise |
| author_facet | Ablewhite, Joanne McDaid, Lisa Hawkins, Adrian Peel, Isabel Goodenough, Trudy Deave, Toity Stewart, Jane Watson, Michael Kendrick, Denise |
| author_sort | Ablewhite, Joanne |
| building | Nottingham Research Data Repository |
| collection | Online Access |
| description | BACKGROUND: Childhood unintentional injury represents an important global health problem. Many unintentional injuries experienced by children aged under 5years occur within the home and are preventable. The aim of this study was to explore the approaches used by parents of children under five in order to help prevent unintentional injuries in the home and the factors which influence their use. Understanding how parents approach risk-management in the home has important implications for injury practitioners.
METHODS: A multi-centre qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. A thematic approach was used to analyse the data. Sixty five parents of children aged under 5years, from four study areas were interviewed: Bristol, Newcastle, Norwich and Nottingham.
RESULTS: Three main injury prevention strategies used by parents were: a) Environmental such as removal of hazards, and use of safety equipment; b) parental supervision; and c) teaching, for example, teaching children about safety and use of rules and routine. Strategies were often used in combination due to their individual limitations. Parental assessment of injury risk, use of strategy and perceived effectiveness were fluid processes dependent on a child's character, developmental age and the prior experiences of both parent and child. Some parents were more proactive in their approach to home safety while others only reacted if their child demonstrated an interest in a particular object or activity perceived as being an injury risk.
CONCLUSION: Parents' injury prevention practices encompass a range of strategies that are fluid in line with the child's age and stage of development; however, parents report that they still find it challenging to decide which strategy to use and when. |
| first_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:09:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | nottingham-30528 |
| institution | University of Nottingham Malaysia Campus |
| institution_category | Local University |
| last_indexed | 2025-11-14T19:09:17Z |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publisher | BioMed Central |
| recordtype | eprints |
| repository_type | Digital Repository |
| spelling | nottingham-305282020-05-04T17:16:14Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30528/ Approaches used by parents to keep their children safe at home: a qualitative study to explore the perspectives of parents with children aged under five years Ablewhite, Joanne McDaid, Lisa Hawkins, Adrian Peel, Isabel Goodenough, Trudy Deave, Toity Stewart, Jane Watson, Michael Kendrick, Denise BACKGROUND: Childhood unintentional injury represents an important global health problem. Many unintentional injuries experienced by children aged under 5years occur within the home and are preventable. The aim of this study was to explore the approaches used by parents of children under five in order to help prevent unintentional injuries in the home and the factors which influence their use. Understanding how parents approach risk-management in the home has important implications for injury practitioners. METHODS: A multi-centre qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. A thematic approach was used to analyse the data. Sixty five parents of children aged under 5years, from four study areas were interviewed: Bristol, Newcastle, Norwich and Nottingham. RESULTS: Three main injury prevention strategies used by parents were: a) Environmental such as removal of hazards, and use of safety equipment; b) parental supervision; and c) teaching, for example, teaching children about safety and use of rules and routine. Strategies were often used in combination due to their individual limitations. Parental assessment of injury risk, use of strategy and perceived effectiveness were fluid processes dependent on a child's character, developmental age and the prior experiences of both parent and child. Some parents were more proactive in their approach to home safety while others only reacted if their child demonstrated an interest in a particular object or activity perceived as being an injury risk. CONCLUSION: Parents' injury prevention practices encompass a range of strategies that are fluid in line with the child's age and stage of development; however, parents report that they still find it challenging to decide which strategy to use and when. BioMed Central 2015-09-29 Article PeerReviewed Ablewhite, Joanne, McDaid, Lisa, Hawkins, Adrian, Peel, Isabel, Goodenough, Trudy, Deave, Toity, Stewart, Jane, Watson, Michael and Kendrick, Denise (2015) Approaches used by parents to keep their children safe at home: a qualitative study to explore the perspectives of parents with children aged under five years. BMC Public Health, 15 (983). pp. 1-10. ISSN 1471-2458 Child safety Child injury prevention Safety strategies Qualitative http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/15/983 doi:10.1186/s12889-015-2252-x doi:10.1186/s12889-015-2252-x |
| spellingShingle | Child safety Child injury prevention Safety strategies Qualitative Ablewhite, Joanne McDaid, Lisa Hawkins, Adrian Peel, Isabel Goodenough, Trudy Deave, Toity Stewart, Jane Watson, Michael Kendrick, Denise Approaches used by parents to keep their children safe at home: a qualitative study to explore the perspectives of parents with children aged under five years |
| title | Approaches used by parents to keep their children safe at home: a qualitative study to explore the perspectives of parents with children aged under five years |
| title_full | Approaches used by parents to keep their children safe at home: a qualitative study to explore the perspectives of parents with children aged under five years |
| title_fullStr | Approaches used by parents to keep their children safe at home: a qualitative study to explore the perspectives of parents with children aged under five years |
| title_full_unstemmed | Approaches used by parents to keep their children safe at home: a qualitative study to explore the perspectives of parents with children aged under five years |
| title_short | Approaches used by parents to keep their children safe at home: a qualitative study to explore the perspectives of parents with children aged under five years |
| title_sort | approaches used by parents to keep their children safe at home: a qualitative study to explore the perspectives of parents with children aged under five years |
| topic | Child safety Child injury prevention Safety strategies Qualitative |
| url | https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30528/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30528/ https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/30528/ |