Knowledge,attitudes, and practices of family physicians and nurses regarding unintentional injuries among children under 15 years in Cairo,Egypt

Unintentional injuries are a leading cause of death among children, especially in developing countries. Lack of reliable data regarding primary health care professionals' role in childhood unintentional injury prevention hinders the development of effective prevention strategies. A survey of 99 family physicians and nurses from 10 family health centres sought to develop insight into their knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding unintentional injury prevention for children <15 in Cairo, Egypt. Approximately, 60% were familiar with the terms unintentional injuries and injury prevention. Falls and road traffic crashes were identified as primary causes of childhood injuries by 54.5%. While >90% agreed injury prevention counselling (IPC) could be effective, only 50.5% provided IPC. Lack of time and educational materials were the leading barriers to provision of IPC (91.9% and 85.9%, respectively), while thinking counselling is not part of their clinical duties was the least perceived barrier (9.1%). There is a large disconnect between providers' knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding IPC, more training and provision of counselling tools are essential for improving IPC by Egyptian medical providers.     

Family communication and parental influence on children's brand attitudes

This study examines the degree family communication affects the transmission of brand attitudes from parents to children. The results indicate that mothers with concept-oriented and fathers with socio-oriented communication are more likely to influence their children's brand attitudes. The article considers the effects of gender. Comparing with those of fathers', mothers' brand attitudes relate more to both male and female children's brand attitudes.     

Characteristics and risk factors for accident injury in Canada from 1986 to 1996: an analysis of the Canadian Accident Injury Reporting and Evaluation (CAIRE) database

This study analyzed the database of Canadian Accident Injury Reporting and Evaluation (CAIRE) for the injuries reported from January 1986 to March 1996 in seven provinces at children's or general hospitals in Canada. In order to describe the characteristics of injuries, we compared the different categories of injuries by sex and by age groups, identified patterns of injuries, and detected the products causing injury to Canadian people. The results showed that there were 130,489 injury cases in Canada during the 10 years from 1986 to 1996. The 10–19 year age group had 57,582 cases, representing 44.13% of total injuries, and making it the group with the highest occurrence of injuries. The male injury rate (69.75%) was significantly higher than the female rate (30.25%) (P = 0.0001). Six areas were identified as priorities for intervention: 1) injuries occurring on playgrounds among children and youth; 2) sports and playground apparatus injuries and injuries sustained in transit among young people; 3) the top five causes of injuries; 4) diagnosis and treatment of injuries; 5) consumer products and safety; and 6) nature and physical sites of injuries. Further work is needed in: evaluating injury causes, comparing the results with reports from other countries and the necessary approaches and prevention measures to reduce and control injury occurrences to improve the quality of consumer products, and to protect the health of the population in Canada.     

Quest for the eco‐apparel market: a study of mothers' willingness to purchase organic cotton clothing for their children

The purpose of this study was to examine what consumer characteristics are related to willingness to purchase and selection of children's organic cotton clothing (OCC). A survey was conducted on mothers of pre‐schoolers to collect data on mothers' environmental characteristics, involvement with OCC and children's clothing, children's clothing purchasing behaviour and willingness to purchase OCC. A buying scenario experiment was used to examine whether price and other product characteristics influenced the participants' selection of OCC. It was found that a mother's environmental concerns, environmental purchasing behaviour and recycling behaviour significantly affected their involvement in OCC, which further significantly determined mother's willingness to purchase OCC. However, mothers were not willing to pay a premium for purchasing children's OCC. A majority (59.5%) of the mothers who selected OCC in the buying scenario indicated fabric softness was the main reason for their selection. Preparing environmental education materials for consumers and producing OCC with high quality and good performance would help improve the acceptance of OCC in the market.     

Community safety promotion at local,regional, and national levels. Summary report from a workshop on local organizing and societal contributions with regard to the development of Safe Communities,held at the Third International Conference on Safe Communities,June 6-8, 1994, Harstad,Norway

Aim The aim of this review was to determine the extent to which the effectiveness of countermeasures for preventing alpine skiing injuries has been evaluated. Methods The methodology involved a critical review based on the available international literature and sports equipment standards, as well as consultation with experts in the field. Where possible, the review focused on controlled trials. Results Key injury countermeasures in skiing identified in this review include physical conditioning programmes, ski-bindings and their timely release, professional adjustment of ski-bindings and the use of mechanical testing devices for this, design of ski pole handles, helmets for children (and adults), ski patrollers, skier education, speed control on the slopes and safe lifting equipment. A tabular categorisation of the types of evidence for the effectiveness of injury countermeasures is presented. This demonstrates that the weight of evidence is generally based on a combination of data-based or biomechanical testing evidence and informed opinion/anecdotal evidence. There is minimal evidence based on controlled trials in the field. The most evaluated countermeasures are ski bindings and ski pole handles. Properly adjusted ski bindings have the potential for a 3.5-fold reduction in lower extremity injuries, particularly knee injuries. Ski pole handle design needs further innovation and attention. An immediate concern is the generally poorer standard of children’s equipment, ski bindings and their adjustment. Conclusion Skiing is a sport that is growing in popularity, but with a need for controlled trials of its injury prevention countermeasures. This review provides a basis for further action in injury prevention research, development and implementation.     

Epidemiologic features and intervention effect of fall injury among rural school-aged children in southwest China: a short-term cohort study

ABSTRACT

Falls are the top one type in all unintentional injuries. In this study, we aim to explore the epidemiological characteristics of falls and assess the intervention effect. Our research had interviewed 2854 rural children in southwest China. Then, we used School–Family–Individual (SFI) comprehensive education model to conduct an intervention among 1506 children and follow up them for one year. The changes in injury knowledge and incidence rate before and after intervention were compared. We found the fall injury was 37.32% (178/477) and ranked top one in the total injuries. After intervention, the children's fall-injuries-related knowledge was significantly increased by 15.29 percent (P < 0.001). While falls incidence significantly decreased after- intervention (6.24% vs. 3.93%; P < 0.001). From the results we concluded that the falls rate was high and was the prior reason of all injuries. SFI intervention model can effectively reduce the incidence of the fall injury.     

Balancing health,harmony and hegemony: Parents' goals and strategies in children's food related consumer socialization

Parents play a pivotal role in socializing their children for healthy eating. The objectives of the present study were (1) to identify food socialization outcomes valued by parents, and (2) to study how parents socialize their children for (healthy) eating at home and during food shopping. Including both parents' perceptions of valued food socialization outcomes and associated processes addresses a significant gap in the food socialization literature. The study used semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews with parents of young children. Data were subsequently analysed by interpretive, thematic procedures. The sample consisted of middle‐ to high‐income families from two cities in Denmark. Findings reveal four main food socialization goals valued by parents: (1) Nutrition and Health, (2) Healthy Relationship with Food, (3) Food Assimilation and (4) Self‐Regulation and Autonomy. Parents prioritized children's acquisition of a healthy relationship with food which included preserving family relations and harmony, more than strictly attending a nutritious diet, contrasting the focus on the nutritional value of diet usually emphasised by public health authorities. The study therefore concludes that parents' notions of what constitutes healthy diets for their children is not completely aligned with common nutrition‐oriented recommendations. Also, fathers were found to play a very active role in their children's food‐related consumer socialization. The findings underline the importance of addressing the priorities and strategies of both mothers and fathers when marketers and policy makers target contemporary families regarding children's food socialization.     

Injury rates and risk-factors associated with eventing: a total cohort study of injury events among adult Swedish eventing athletes

The aim of this study was to examine injury events and risk-factors among Swedish adult eventing athletes. A cross-sectional study design with retrospective recording of 1-year sports-specific exposure and injury data was used. The invited study population consisted of all members of the Swedish Equestrian Federation with eventing as their primary discipline (n = 513). The participation rate was 70.0%. The total 1-year injury prevalence was 26.6%; the specific 1-year prevalence of traumatic injury was 19.3% and of overuse injury 10.9%. The incidence of traumatic injury events was 0.54 injury events/1000 eventing hours (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.35-0.73 injury events/1000 eventing hours) for novices and 0.35 injury events/1000 eventing hours for qualified riders (95% CI, 0.21-0.49 injury events/1000 eventing hours). A total of 27.9% of the traumatic injury events led to severe injuries (causing more than 3 weeks absence from riding). Attitude to risk-taking was the only factor predicting an athlete becoming injured (p = 0.023), and qualification level was the only risk factor for additional injuries among injured riders (p = 0.003). Our results suggest that injury prevention programs in eventing should also give attention to overuse injuries and that care should be taken when eventing athletes are licensed into higher qualification groups.     

Children's perception of dinner conversation with parents in Japan

The children's perception of dinner and dinner conversation with their parents was surveyed for sixth‐grade students of elementary school in Japan. The data were analysed from the gender of children and attending parents. The children had dinner and dinner conversation more frequently with their mother than with their father. With father attendance, girls and boys had the same frequency of dinner and dinner conversation, although, with mother attendance, girls had dinner conversation more frequently than boys. Most of the children felt happy when they had dinner with their parents. However, a lower percentage of children felt happy when having dinner conversation with their parents, thought that they were important to their parents and thought dinner conversation was useful. More children felt happy during dinner and dinner conversation with their mother than with their father. However, there was no perceived difference in the usefulness of the conversation based on the father or the mother attending. The contents of conversation were greatly affected by which parent was attending. Subjects concerning children's manners were talked about more frequently in conversation with mothers than with fathers. Children had more frequent conversations with their father about ‘social issues’ and the ‘parents’ surroundings’ than with their mother. Girls had more frequent conversations on a wider variety of subjects with their mothers than boys. Girls could more easily share in their mothers’ knowledge or sense of values through dinner conversation. Boys were, for the most part, excluded from this process in conversation with either parent.     

Perceptions of risk among children with and without attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

Traditionally, health professionals have positioned injury prevention strategies from their own perspective with little acknowledgement or understanding of the perspective of those who experience risk taking: specific populations of children with differing approaches to risk perception and problem-solving. The present study addresses this oversight by engaging children with and without attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to explore the meaning of risk from their perspective. Although both groups of children reported similar processes of assessing risk, unique to children with ADHD was the overestimation of their physical abilities, intentional risk taking and anticipation of positive or no consequences of their risk taking. These findings also advance our knowledge of potentially appropriate strategies to effect change in risk taking that could influence risk of injury. Specifically, findings suggest that prevention efforts that incorporate both cognitive and social interventions are the most promising approaches. Integrating this understanding of children's perception of risk builds our knowledge about the contribution of risk perception to injury events and may help to inform future injury prevention initiatives with children with ADHD.     

Feasibility of routine collection of injured worker occupational information in hospital emergency departments

The aim of this study was to examine injury events and risk-factors among Swedish adult eventing athletes. A cross-sectional study design with retrospective recording of 1-year sports-specific exposure and injury data was used. The invited study population consisted of all members of the Swedish Equestrian Federation with eventing as their primary discipline (n = 513). The participation rate was 70.0%. The total 1-year injury prevalence was 26.6%; the specific 1-year prevalence of traumatic injury was 19.3% and of overuse injury 10.9%. The incidence of traumatic injury events was 0.54 injury events/1000 eventing hours (95% confidence interval (CI), 0.35–0.73 injury events/1000 eventing hours) for novices and 0.35 injury events/1000 eventing hours for qualified riders (95% CI, 0.21–0.49 injury events/1000 eventing hours). A total of 27.9% of the traumatic injury events led to severe injuries (causing more than 3 weeks absence from riding). Attitude to risk-taking was the only factor predicting an athlete becoming injured (p = 0.023), and qualification level was the only risk factor for additional injuries among injured riders (p = 0.003). Our results suggest that injury prevention programs in eventing should also give attention to overuse injuries and that care should be taken when eventing athletes are licensed into higher qualification groups.     

Children as co‐researchers voicing their preferences in foods and eating: methodological reflections

There is an increasing and sustained interest in participatory research with children. We subscribe to these new perspectives by involving children as co‐researchers investigating their preferences when it comes to foods and eating. The overall aim of the research project Sustainable Eating Children's Way: Promoting Healthy Food Habits among Children 10–12 (Barn som medforskare i matlandskap) is to create an understanding of how children's food habits can develop in healthier and more sustainable ways. The specific aim of this paper was to discuss the methods used in the first phase of the project in order to find an answer to the question: ‘Is it possible to gain a deeper and more nuanced understanding of children's preferences in foods and eating?’ The research process in this project can be looked upon as two parallel processes: the overall one initiated by the senior research team and the one incorporating the children as co‐researchers. The children participating were 10‐year‐olds attending two classes in the fourth grade of a Swedish government‐funded school. We found the children knowledgeable and competent as co‐researchers. Involving children in the research processes and giving them freedom to explore is a promising way of letting their voices be heard in health promotion programmes.     

Children's perception of food and healthy eating: dynamics behind their food preferences

Childhood obesity epidemic has been a popular topic for research as it has become a major health concern in many countries. As the focus of earlier studies has been predominantly on food marketing to children, there is still limited research on what other factors, apart from food marketing, influence their food preferences and eating habits. Bringing in children's perspectives as well as those of parents and guardians, this study aims to fill this gap by shedding light on further dynamics that can be influential on children's preferences. Through a qualitative inquiry, focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with children between the ages of 7 and 11. Aiming to investigate both meanings and practices, these sessions also included interactive and participatory research methods such as drawing, word games and role playing. Moreover, in-depth interviews were carried out with teachers and mothers to gain an understanding of their perspective on the topic. The findings show the different appeals and social influences behind children's food preferences, among which sensory and fun appeals as well as the influence of parents come forward. By revealing these different appeals of food and social influences, the study brings a new perspective to the discussions on childhood obesity and food marketing.     

Paediatric head injuries treated in a children's emergency department from Cluj-Napoca,Romania

The aim of the study was to describe paediatric head injuries and identify factors that led to advanced care. Incident cases of head injuries that sought care from December 2008 to October 2010 at Children's Emergency Hospital Cluj-Napoca were evaluated. The main outcome was transfer or admission to advanced care. From a total of 3053 children treated for an injury, 1541 (50.4%) presented with head injury. A total of 960 (62.3%) of the children with a head injury required advanced care treatment. Young children were more likely to suffer a head injury than older children, but a higher proportion of older children required advanced care (70.3%). Children who suffered a head injury as a consequence of road traffic were almost five times more likely to require advanced care (OR: 4.97; 3.09-8.06) than being released. Our results suggest that data on injuries provide evidence-based information on the nature of injuries children are prone to, and what activity, type, and mechanism of injury impact Romanian children.     

Incidence and characteristics of unintentional injuries among children in a resource limited setting in Kampala,Uganda

ABSTRACT

Given that little is known about the epidemiology of unintentional injuries in children in low-income countries, this study sought to determine the incidence and characteristics of unintentional injuries among children aged ≤18 years in a slum community in Uganda. From a household survey, the incidence and odds ratios for factors associated with unintentional injury characteristics were calculated. Of 1583 children, 706 had suffered 787 unintentional injuries yielding an annual incidence rate of 497 injuries per 1000 children. Commonest injuries were cuts, bites or open wounds (30.6%) and bruises or superficial injuries (28.6%) with majority (75.5%) occurring at home. Boys were more likely to be injured at school (AOR 4.34; 95% CI 1.22–15.54) and to be injured from falls (AOR 1.41; 95% CI 1.01–1.96). Older children (12–18 years) were more likely to suffer from fractures (AOR 2.37; 95% CI 1.26–4.43), concussions and organ system injuries (AOR 3.58; 95% CI 1.03–12.39) and cuts, bites or open wounds (AOR 2.05; 95% CI 1.21–3.48). Older children were less likely to suffer burns or scalds as compared to the young children (AOR: 0.23; 95% CI 0.11–0.50). Unintentional injury incidence rate was high among children with most occurring in the homes.     

Poisonings

Manufacturers of household products – including appliances, exercise equipment, and even some children's toys – expect consumers to supervise their children to prevent product related injuries. This approach to hazard prevention places the burden of safety on parents and caretakers. This study examined actual supervision practices of parents of children between the ages of two and six years. 59 parents, aged 31 to 40 years, residing in Montgomery County, Maryland, completed a 24-item self-administered questionnaire, consisting of multiple choice and open-ended questions. Nearly all respondents reported that there are times when their children are in a different room from them. When the children are out of sight, parents reported checking on their children periodically, with increasingly longer periods between observations, as the child gets older. Nearly half of the children got out of bed in the morning always or often before a parent. Ninety-five percent of parents perceived that their child was at no risk or slight risk of injury when getting up in the morning before them. In conclusion, it can be said that many parents supervise their children by being close-by and on-hand as needed, rather than being directly involved in the child's activities. Manufacturers are encouraged to employ passive measures and sound designs, rather than rely on close parental supervision for injury prevention.     

The epidemiology of non-fatal injuries among 11-, 13- and 15-year old youth in 11 countries: findings from the 1998 WHO-HBSC cross national survey

The primary objective was to present a cross-country comparison of injury rates, contexts and consequences. The research design was the analysis of data from the 1998 cross-national Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey and 52955 schoolchildren from 11 countries, aged 11, 13 and 15 years, completed a self-administrated questionnaire. A total of 41.3% of all children were injured and needed medical treatment in the past 12 months. Injury rates among boys were higher than among girls, 13.3% reported activity loss due to injury and 6.9% reported severe injury consequences. Most injuries occurred at home and at a sport facility, mainly during sport activity. Fighting accounted for 4.1% of injuries. This paper presents the first cross-national comparison of injury rates and patterns by external cause and context. Findings present cross-country similarities in injury distribution by setting and activity. These findings emphasize the importance of the development of global prevention programmes designed to address injuries among youth.     

Interpersonal violence in the United Arab Emirates

We aimed to study the anatomical distribution, severity and outcome of hospitalised interpersonal violence-related injured patients in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates so as to give recommendations regarding the magnitude of this problem, its causes and priorities of prevention. Data were retrieved from Al-Ain Hospital Trauma Registry, which was prospectively collected over three years. There were 75 patients (males = 85.3%) having a mean age of 30 years. Eighty-one percent had blunt trauma. The estimated annual injury hospitalisation of interpersonal violence in Al-Ain city was 6.7 per 100,000 population. Females were significantly more injured by a family member (p = 0.02), at home (p = 0.005), and had more severe injuries (p = 0.003). There was a trend for children less than 18 years old to have more penetrating trauma (p = 0.06) and to be injured by a family member (p = 0.09). There was only one case of woman sexual assault and two cases of child abuse. The mean (SD) hospital stay was 7.87 (14.1) days. Less than 3% (n = 2) were admitted to the intensive care unit with no deaths. In conclusion, the majority of patients in our study had minor injuries. Nevertheless, the psychological impact may be major. This highlights the need to develop suitable mental health services in support of victims of interpersonal violence.     

Secondary school tuck shop options and student choices: A cross‐sectional survey

Obesity in children is rapidly becoming a major public health problem in Hong Kong; the prevalence of overweight in children increased from 16.2% to 22.2% between 1998 and 2008. Healthy eating programs and policies exist, but only for primary schools, and students’ eating habits change when they are exposed to the new environment in secondary schools. Therefore, this study examined the relationship between available food in secondary school tuck shops and students’ purchasing preferences. A cross‐sectional survey was conducted from mid‐March to mid‐April 2016 across six secondary schools, using a questionnaire to measure students’ healthy eating knowledge and eating habits and a checklist to explore food options in each school's tuck shop. Linear regression was used to explore the relationship between eating knowledge and eating habits and logistic regression to explore the relationship between available foods at the tuck shops and the children's purchasing preferences. A total of 374 junior secondary students participated in the survey. A weak, positive correlation was found between healthy eating knowledge and healthy eating habits. No association was found between available food at tuck shops and children's purchasing preferences. The results reveal a definite knowledge‐attitude gap where healthy eating is concerned. Despite there being no significant association between the food offerings in tuck shops and students’ measured purchasing preferences (p > .05), 81% of the students stated that they would choose healthy food if offered, illustrating the urgent need to assess the variety and nutritional quality of foods available in secondary school tuck shops.