Maternal knowledge and attitude towards unintentional childhood injury among children under five

African Journal of Disability

 
 
Field Value
 
Title Maternal knowledge and attitude towards unintentional childhood injury among children under five
 
Creator Balogun, Olaitan J. Bello, Oyeronke O. Nkhata, Loveness A. Conran, Joseph
 
Subject family medicine; primary health care; rural health; education unintentional injury; maternal; knowledge; attitude; under-fives; nature of injuries.
Description Background: Childhood injuries resulting in disability represent a critical global health challenge, particularly for children under five and their families. Unintentional injuries, including falls, fractures, burns, scalds, and poisoning, pose significant risks. In Oyo State, Nigeria, limited maternal knowledge about these injuries potentially contributes to inadequate prevention strategies.Objectives: The study examined unintentional childhood injuries among children under five by identifying nature of injury, assessing maternal knowledge and attitudes, and exploring associations between socio-demographic factors and their knowledge and attitude.Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted across two hospitals, employing a structured questionnaire to collect data on injury characteristics, maternal knowledge, and attitudes. Statistical analysis using SPSS version 23.0 involved percentage calculations, standard deviation, Fisher’s exact test and chi-square test to evaluate demographic variable associations at a 5% significance level.Results: Findings revealed falls, scalds, soft tissue damage, poisoning, and burns as the most frequent unintentional injuries necessitating hospitalisation. The research uncovered a significant deficit in maternal knowledge about childhood injuries, accompanied by predominantly negative preventive attitudes. Mothers’ age, religious background, and educational attainment demonstrated statistically significant correlations with knowledge scores.Conclusion: The study exposes critical gaps in understanding and preventing childhood injuries, emphasising the urgent need for targeted educational interventions across community stakeholders to mitigate risks and improve child health outcomes.Contribution: The study contributes to the existing literature, identified specific knowledge deficits regarding childhood injury prevention and factors that influence preventive knowledge and attitude. It also provides an evidence-base for developing appropriate educational interventions targeting vulnerable population.
 
Publisher AOSIS
 
Contributor None
Date 2025-05-15
 
Type info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion — —
Format text/html application/epub+zip text/xml application/pdf
Identifier 10.4102/ajod.v14i0.1617
 
Source African Journal of Disability; Vol 14 (2025); 8 pages 2226-7220 2223-9170
 
Language eng
 
Relation
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:

https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1617/3302 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1617/3303 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1617/3304 https://ajod.org/index.php/ajod/article/view/1617/3305
 
Coverage — — —
Rights Copyright (c) 2025 Olaitan J. Balogun, Oyeronke O. Bello, Loveness A. Nkhata, Joseph Conran https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
ADVERTISEMENT