Classification of accident prevention practices against unintentional injuries of preschool children at home: Developmental process and associations with other variables in Japanese families

Abstract Background Preschool children often experience unintentional injuries at home, which are an important public health issue worldwide. In this study, the content and types of accident prevention practices for unintentional injuries of preschool children in families were investigated using a Japanese sample. Methods A total of 875 mothers with children between the ages of 6 months and 6 years and 11 months participated in the online survey. Respondents answered the items regarding specific strategies to prevent unintentional injuries at home, temperament and independence of lifestyle habits and behaviors of their child, as well as their parenting attitudes. Results Correspondence analysis was conducted based on 26 items of accident prevention practices against unintentional injuries to extract two dimensions (eigenvalues: .286, .062, cumulative contribution rate: 34.8%), and cluster analysis was conducted using Ward's method with the Euclidean distance measure based on the scores of each of these two dimensions, deriving three clusters. The first cluster (n=517) comprised the preventative group which kept objects that could lead to injuries away from children in advance; the second cluster (173 participants) explicitly prevented children from approaching or contacting dangerous places or objects; and the third cluster (185 participants) was attentive to each effort to discourage children's contact with dangerous places. Cluster 1 was more common in the 0-year age group, Cluster 2 in the 1- and 2-year age groups, and Cluster 3 in the 4–6-year age groups. Logistic regression analysis revealed that the more independent the children were regarding lifestyle habits and behavior, the more likely they were to be classified in the second cluster, and the more parents had an encouraging attitude for their children to take on challenges, the more likely they were to be classified in the third cluster. Conclusion The process of changing strategies to prevent unintentional injuries indicated that the home space gradually opened up to children as they aged.