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Home delivery of an injury prevention kit for children in four French cities: a controlled randomized trial
M Sznajder1, S Leduc, M P Janvrin
1Department of Pediatrics, Ambroise Paré Hospital, Boulogne, France. marc.sznajder@apr.ap-hop-paris.fr
Insights
Home safety kits significantly improved child injury prevention behaviors. Routine home visits by healthcare professionals effectively deliver these kits, reducing risks of falls, burns, poisoning, and suffocation.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Pediatrics
- Injury Prevention
Background:
- Child injuries are a significant public health concern.
- Parental behavior and home environment are key factors in preventing child injuries.
- Targeted interventions can empower parents to adopt safer practices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of a home-delivered safety kit and counseling intervention for child injury prevention.
- To assess the impact of a safety kit on parental adoption of safe behaviors and home modifications.
- To determine the efficacy of a Canadian-designed safety kit in a French suburban population.
Main Methods:
- A randomized controlled trial involving 100 families with infants aged 6-9 months in the Paris suburbs.
- Intervention group received home visits with counseling and a safety kit; control group received counseling only.
- Safety improvements were assessed 6-8 weeks post-intervention through home visits and interviews.
Main Results:
- Families receiving the safety kit demonstrated significantly greater safety improvements compared to the control group (Relative Risk = 1.56).
- The kit was particularly effective in reducing risks associated with falls, fire/burns, poisoning, and suffocation.
- Significant improvements were observed both for risks addressed by kit devices and for unrelated safety measures.
Conclusions:
- Routine home visits by social services are a valuable platform for child injury prevention.
- The provision of free safety kits and counseling empowers families to create safer home environments.
- This intervention effectively reduces the risk of various childhood injuries, promoting safer behaviors and home modifications.
Objectives:
Home delivery of counselling and safety devices to prevent child injuries could help parents to adopt safe behaviour. The aim of this study was to test a safety kit designed and used in Quebec (Canada).
Design And Subjects:
One hundred families from four towns in the Paris suburbs were visited at home by nurses or doctors when their child reached 6-9 months. Selection criteria were: primipara, medical problem, psychological, and/or socioeconomic difficulties.
Interventions:
During the first visit, 50 families (group 1) received counselling and a kit including preventive devices and pamphlets about indoor injuries and ways to avoid them. The other 50 families (group 2) received counselling but not the kit. A second home visit was made 6-8 weeks later.
Main Outcome Measures:
The number of safety improvements was calculated 6-8 weeks after a first home visit. Perceived usefulness of the kit was collected from families and from interviewers.
Results:
Between the first and the second visits, safety improvement was significantly higher in the group with the kit. This was mainly related to the risk of fall (p<0.02), fire and burns (p<0.001), poisoning (p<0.01), and suffocation (p<0.001). For improvement related to devices provided in the kit, the difference between the groups was significant: 64.4% improvement in group 1 versus 41.2% in group 2 (p<0.01). The relative risk (RR) of safety improvement between groups was 1.56 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.35 to 1.80). Even for improvements not related to the kit the difference remained significant: 31.2% in group 1 versus 20.2% in group 2 (p<0.05); RR = 1.54 (95% CI 1.22 to 1.93).
Conclusion:
Routine home visits by social services offer a good opportunity to tackle child injury prevention. Free delivery of prevention kits and counselling allow families to modify their behaviour and homes so as to reduce risks.