KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDE AND PRACTICES OF MOTHERS TOWARDS HOME ACCIDENTS AMONG CHILDREN IN HOLY KERBALA CITY

Abstract

Children's injuries at home are increasingly being recognized as a public health issue that may be avoided with
improved awareness, safe practices, and improvements to the home environment. Preschool children are particularly
vulnerable to home accidents, and providing information to mothers about how to protect their children in the event
of an accident has a significant influence on reducing the number of injuries among children. The goal of this study
was to assess the mother perception toward home accidents among children and determine the mothers' baseline
knowledge, attitudes, and practices about home accidents in their children and to find out the relationship between
the mother perception toward home accidents among children and demographic data. 368 women who attended
outpatient pediatric clinics at the Maternity and Children Hospital in Karbala Region were studied in a crosssectional study. Mothers' sociodemographic factors, knowledge, attitude, and practices about home accidents were
all included in a self-administered questionnaire. All of the results were given a good, fair, or poor rating. Mothers
were given health education messages. The study's findings revealed that over twothirds of participants (63.28
percent) rely on social media for information regarding home accidents. More than a third (35.9%) had insufficient
knowledge, roughly 38% had a positive attitude, and less than a third (29%) had suitable practices in the event of a
house mishap. There was no significant correlation between mothers' KAP scores and their ages. However, Working
mothers and those with a university education had much higher knowledge and attitude scores. Mothers who had
had first-aid training and had a history of child injury at home were considerably more educated and practiced
proper first-aid procedures. Participants from families with a greater income had more proper practices. Protecting
children from domestic violence requires a multifaceted approach. In addition to combined government and
community efforts, an intervention is required to bridge the knowledge gap and enhance mothers' attitudes and
practices.