Prevention of domestic accidents in childhood: knowledge of caregivers at a health care facility.

ABSTRACT Objective: To analyze caregivers’ knowledge about prevention of domestic accidents in early childhood and its association with education level. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study conducted in a Primary Care Unit in Niteroi with caregivers (convenience sample) of children under 6 years old. To classify the knowledge, we adopted the Positivity Index; to verify the association between the variable “schooling” and knowledge, the chi square test was used; statistically significant results: p < 0.05. Results: A total of 256 caregivers participated; 93.5% showed adequate knowledge. In the individual items, the knowledge (100%) about prevention of accidents with sharp toys, firearms, intoxication by products stood out; and less frequently (64.5%), the knowledge of the information contained in the Child’s Health Booklet. There was no statistically significant association (p = 0.237) between education and knowledge. Conclusion: The caregivers presented knowledge about the prevention of domestic accidents, and this was not associated with the level of education.