A STUDY TO ASSESS THE KNOWLEDGE OF RURAL MOTHERS REGARDING COMMON DOMESTIC CHILDHOOD INJURIES AND HOME-SAFETY MEASURES ADOPTED BY THEM IN WEST DISTRICT OF TRIPURA, INDIA

BACKGROUND: Fragile, helpless and innocent, an infant enters the world completely dependent on its caretakers. The house is an exciting place for infants and small children, who love to explore but aren't aware of the potential dangers. OBJECTIVES: To assess knowledge of mothers regarding domestic childhood injuries and safety measures adopted by them. METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 230 rural mothers of west Tripura district during May to June 2012. A systematic random sampling technique was used to select individual participant and information collected using pre-tested semi-structured interview schedule. RESULTS: The majority (71.3%) of respondents were in the age group 20-25 yea, housewives (79.56%), nuclear families (67.7%), up to primary education (60.9%) and family income of <Rs 5000/- per month (53.5%). Only 3.9% met minor domestic injuries. Out of which 6(66.7%) of respondents' children 3 were treated at home, remaining at hospital and all of them recovered. No significant relationship between age of mother and level of knowledge (X-2 for trend, p= 1.094). There was significant relation (p= 0.016) between sex of the child and level of knowledge of mothers. CONCLUSION: The study revealed that sex of the children was important factor for knowledge level of mothers. The reported incidence of domestic injury was low that might have been due to under reporting.