Predictors of protection motivation to prevent home injuries among mothers with children under 5 year-old

Unintentional injuries are major cause of death and disability in children. In this regard, mothers play important role in adopting preventive measures to avoid these injuries. The aim of this study was to determine the predictors of protection motivation to prevent home injuries among mothers with children under 5 year-old. This study was performed on 204 mothers having children under 5 year-old in health centers. Proportional stratified random sampling was use as sampling method. The inclusion criteria were living in Jiroft city, ability to read and write, having at least one child under 5 year-old and desire to participate in the study. A researcher-made with 41 items questionnaire was used to measure demographics characteristics and protection motivation theory constructs in terms of home injuries. The results showed that there was significant relationship between mean scores of protection motivation and perceived vulnerability, perceived severity, response efficacy, self-efficacy, response costs and fear. The results of linear regression analysis showed that self-efficacy, fear and response costs could predict 20% of variance of motivation to protect from home-related injuries. Considering that self-efficacy, response cost, and fear could predict protection motivation among mothers so use of such constructs in health promotion interventions can improve the safety behaviors of mothers at home.