Factors Associated with Mothersʹʹ Beliefs and Practices Concerning Injury Prevention in Under Five-Year Children, Based on Health Belief Model

Background: Injuries are the first leading but predictable, avoidable and preventable cause of death among under five-year children worldwide. The present study aimed to identify the factors associated with mothersʹ beliefs and practices concerning injury prevention in under five-year children. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted from August to October 2011 in Hamadan County, the west of Iran, enrolling 580 mothers with at least one under five-year child. The data collection instrument was a questionnaire including 85 questions regarding demographic characteristics; knowledge; practices; Health Belief Model (HBM) constructs; and history of injury occurrence among the children. The reliability of the questionnaire was evaluated by a pilot study using Cronbachʹs alpha coefficient. Data had been collected through interview with mothers, by trained interviewers. Results: Almost 22.59% of mothers reported at least one injury in their under five-year children. Of 131 injuries occurred, 85 cases were mild, 23 cases were moderate, and 23 cases were severe. About 52.67% of injuries occurred in boys, 37.41% in less than one-year children, 73.28% at home, and 61.07% when the children were playing game. Fall (24.28%), burn (20.61%) and poisoning (14.50%) were the common causes of injuries. There was a positive correlation between mothersʹ practices and knowledge, perceived benefits, cues to action and self-efficacy and a negative correla-tion between mothersʹ practices and perceived susceptibility, severity, and barriers. Conclusion: Knowledge, perceived severity, perceived barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy of mothers toward the injuries in children were among the most important predictive constructs, which may be used for planning educating programs.