A PROTOCOL ON FACTORS INFLUENCING SAFETY PRACTICES FOR INJURY PREVENTION AMONGST CHILDREN IN DAY-CARE CENTRES IN SELANGOR AND PUTRAJAYA, 2015

Abstract

ABSTRACT

Background: Childhood injuries have become one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality amongst infants and pre-school children. With the increase in working mothers in the labour force, the demand for out-of-home child care in the form of day-care centres has risen substantially in recent years. Young children cannot understand the risk of injury and thus do not know how to be safe. It is therefore essential that child care settings not only offer a safe environment but also qualified staff members who are able to provide appropriate supervision. With the growing concern for the safety of children, this study is designed to identify factors that influence safety practices for injury prevention amongst children in licensed day-care centers in Malaysia.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study design using cluster sampling method will be applied. Selected licensed day-care centers in Selangor and Putrajaya will be eligible to participate in the study. Regions with eligible day-care centres will be divided into clusters. A random number table will be used to select primary clusters. All caregivers in direct contact with children will be selected to participate. A sample size of 1178 caregivers is calculated, with participants including only full-time and part-time caregivers past their probation period of 1 month. The main instrument of measure will be a self-constructed standardized safety-checklist and questionnaire.

Conclusion: Results from this study can be used to increase awareness of the factors that influence safety practice amongst children in day-care centres. This knowledge will help identify areas that need focus and enforcement in order to reduce and eliminate the risk of future injuries amongst children in day-care centres.

Keywords: Safety practice, Children, Day-care Centres, Injuries, Prevention