Characteristics and predictors of home injury hazards among toddlers in Wenzhou, China: a community-based cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND Home hazards are associated with toddlers receiving unintentional home injuries (UHI). These result in not only physical and psychological difficulties for children, but also economic losses and additional stress for their families. Few researchers pay attention to predictors of home hazards among toddlers in a systematic way. The purpose of this study is firstly to describe the characteristics of homes with hazards and secondly to explore the predicted relationship of children, parents and family factors to home hazards among toddlers aged 24-47 months in Wenzhou, China. METHODS A random cluster sampling was employed to select 366 parents having children aged 24 - 47 months from 13 kindergartens between March and April of 2012. Four instruments assessed home hazards, demographics, parent's awareness of UHI, as well as family functioning. RESULTS Descriptive statistics showed that the mean of home hazards was 12.29 (SD = 6.39). The nine kinds of home hazards that were identified in over 50% of households were: plastic bags (74.3%), coin buttons (69.1%), and toys with small components (66.7%) etc. Multivariate linear regression revealed that the predictors of home hazards were the child's age, the child's residential status and family functioning (b = .19, 2.02, -.07, p < .01, < .05 and  < .01, respectively). CONCLUSIONS The results showed that a higher number of home hazards were significantly attributed to older toddlers, migrant toddlers and poorer family functioning. This result suggested that heath care providers should focus on the vulnerable family and help the parents assess home hazards. Further study is needed to find interventions on how to manage home hazards for toddlers in China.