Attitudes of Women from Jiroft City About Prevention of Home Injuries in Children Under 5 Years Using Protection Motivation Theory in 2015

Mother's attitudes towards the possibility of an accident and its related preventive measures can affect children's injuries. Psychological theories and constructs provide an opportunity to explain how people's attitudes affect their decision making in adoption of a health behavior. This study examined attitudes of women from Jiroft city about prevention of home injuries in children under 5 years through Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) in 2015.
In this cross-sectional study, 204 mothers with children less than 5 years were selected from those who referred to health centers of Jiroft in 2015. In this regard, random cluster sampling method was applied. A self-administered questionnaire based on PMT was used to collect information. The data were then analyzed using descriptive statistical methods to investigate the distribution of responses to the questions. Later, one-way ANOVA and independent t-test were applied to observe the relationship between demographic variables and protection motivation.
The age range of mothers was 16 - 49 years. History of domestic injuries was reported in 22.5 percent of participants. It was more than six months that 70.6 % of mothers were implementing safety measures at home. In threat assessment processes, mother's most important attitudes were related to fear of home injuries (46.6 %); however, in coping assessment processes, it was related to perceived self-efficacy (51.9%).
The results showed that increase of fear and perceived self-efficacy in mothers has a greater role in their motivation to prevent home injuries. This can be considered as an appropriate strategy in planning health promotion interventions.