Al-Hajj Samar, El Haj Rawan, Chaaya Monique, Sharara-Chami Rana, Mehmood Amber
Epidemiology and Population Health Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, PO Box 11-0236, Riad El-Solh, Beirut, 1107 2020, Lebanon.
Faculty of Medicine, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon.
Inj Epidemiol. 2023 Jun 20;10(1):27. doi: 10.1186/s40621-023-00434-9.
Childhood injury is a neglected public health problem with a sizeable burden on children's well-being and their families. This study aims to describe the pattern and types of childhood injuries and to determine the level of mothers' Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAP) towards childhood injury prevention in Lebanon. The study further examines the association between childhood injury occurrence and mothers' supervision.
This cross-sectional study recruited mothers of children aged up to 10 years from multiple sites (i.e., a medical center, a private clinic, a healthcare facility, and a refugee camp clinic). Data were collected on mothers' KAP toward childhood injuries using self-administrated questionnaires. A summation score for KAP correct answers was calculated and descriptive and statistical analyses were performed to measure the association between the outcomes.
A total of 264 mothers were surveyed and injury data were collected on their 464 children. The prevalence of childhood injury was 20% in the past 12 months, mostly sustained by males (53.8%) and children aged 5-10 years (38.7%). The most common type of injury was fall (48.4%), followed by burns (%7.5), and sports injuries (7.5%). Hospitalized children were more likely to be males and older than 5 years (p < 0.001). More than one-third of the mothers demonstrated poor knowledge, while the majority showed poor practice (54.4%), and fair attitude (45.6%) towards child injury prevention. Children of working mothers have three times higher odds of sustaining injuries (OR: 2.95, 95% CI: 1.60;5.47) compared to those of non-working mothers, accounting for possible confounders (p = 0.001).
Childhood injuries represent a major health problem in Lebanon. Findings from this study showed that mothers are less knowledgeable and unprepared to prevent their children from getting injured. Educational programs are much needed to address the gap in the mothers' KAP toward child injury prevention. Further studies are recommended to understand the cultural context and examine its key determinants to identify effective strategies and develop tailored interventions for preventing childhood injuries.
儿童伤害是一个被忽视的公共卫生问题，给儿童及其家庭的幸福带来了相当大的负担。本研究旨在描述儿童伤害的模式和类型，并确定黎巴嫩母亲对儿童伤害预防的知识、态度和行为（KAP）水平。该研究进一步考察了儿童伤害发生与母亲监督之间的关联。
这项横断面研究从多个地点（即一个医疗中心、一家私人诊所、一个医疗机构和一个难民营诊所）招募了10岁及以下儿童的母亲。使用自填式问卷收集母亲对儿童伤害的KAP数据。计算KAP正确答案的总分，并进行描述性和统计分析以衡量结果之间的关联。
共对264名母亲进行了调查，并收集了她们464名子女的伤害数据。在过去12个月中，儿童伤害的患病率为20%，主要发生在男性（53.8%）和5至10岁的儿童（38.7%）中。最常见的伤害类型是跌倒（48.4%），其次是烧伤（7.5%）和运动损伤（7.5%）。住院儿童更可能是男性且年龄超过5岁（p<0.001）。超过三分之一的母亲表现出知识匮乏，而大多数母亲在儿童伤害预防方面表现出行为不佳（54.4%）和态度一般（45.6%）。与非在职母亲的孩子相比，在职母亲的孩子受伤几率高出两倍（OR：2.95，95%CI：1.60；5.47），在考虑了可能的混杂因素后（p=0.001）。
儿童伤害是黎巴嫩的一个主要健康问题。本研究结果表明，母亲在预防孩子受伤方面知识较少且准备不足。急需开展教育项目来弥补母亲在儿童伤害预防方面的KAP差距。建议进一步开展研究以了解文化背景并考察其关键决定因素，从而确定有效的策略并制定针对性的干预措施来预防儿童伤害。
