PREVENTING ACCIDENTAL INJURY TO YOUNG-CHILDREN IN THE HOME USING VOLUNTEERS

Accidential injury in the home is a major cause of death and ill-healt h among young children. Reducing home safety hazards by the use of saf ety devices such as stair barriers and safety taps has the potential t o prevent home injuries. Little is known about levels of home safety h azards or how to encourage parents to reduce hazards. The Safe Place P roject examined parents' knowledge of home safety and the prevalence o f safety hazards in homes where there were young children. The study a lso evaluated the effectiveness of a low-cost strategy aimed at reduci ng home safety hazards. The strategy used trained volunteers to provid e home safety checks and tailored safety education in conjunction with increasing the availability of home safety devices. One hundred and s ix families with young children participated in the project. Some home s contained many hazards, with 43% of the sample having more than 10 h ome safety hazards. At follow-up, the intervention group showed a sign ificant reduction in home hazards and a trend towards an increase in k nowledge of home safety.