CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the study

            Homes are great sanctuaries, apart from providing protection, they also offer us comfort and pleasures. Home is a primary necessity and modern homes add esteem. Unfortunately careless attitudes can transform the home into a death trap (Osoro, 2015).  Kalesanwo (2002) pointed out that the home to most people is supposed to be a place where security and safety of lives and property are guaranteed yet due to carelessness thousands of men, women and children are killed and about the same number are injured as a result of home accident every year.

Accidents throughout the world have reached major epidemic proportion. Accidents represent a major epidemic of non-communicable disease throughout the world. With industrialization, advancement in technology, better health care and preventive measures like immunization, accident are becoming important cause of death in children and the world over. Also with better education and opportunities for work for both parents, number of members of the family working is increasing day by day. Accidental death in children particularly during playing at home, while flying kites, fall from the terrace, injury from sharp objects, improper use of toys, scissors, knives, blades are not uncommon (Umesh, 2010).

Accident can take place in a wide, variety of environment, however the home is the most likely location. Home accidents otherwise called domestic accident are a major cause of death and injury and contribute substantially to potential years of life lost.  Accident as noted by Wells (2015) can cause pain, distress, and suffering for the victim, their family and friends and even for the wider community. The repercussion of serious accident can be felt for a long time and in some cases can cause life-changing pain, disability and death. Home accidents can arise from many seemingly innocuous sources such as ill-fitting footwear or unsecured blind cords or from practices and behaviours such as not using appropriate lighting at night.

Statistics show that there are some groups in the society who are especially vulnerable to accident in the home and who suffer disproportionally because of them. These include babies, and young children particularly those under 5 years and people over 65 and those with greater social, economic and health disadvantage (Wells, 2015). In addition to the human lost, home accident result in significant pressures and additional cost of health, and social care. Home accidents affect a number of areas of care ranging from immediate post emergency care in hospital, through rehabilitational care to the long term care and support associated with acquired life-long disabilities. This is inturn impact on the overall capacity of the service to provide quality care.

Ikulago (2009) opined that preventive strategies also known as safety precautions are instruction designed or prepared as a form of information which will prevent accidents or untimely death. Preventive strategies or safety precautions can be seen as dos or don’ts. It can also be in the form of signs, warnings on products and other inbuilt devices to reduce or warn against what can trigger accident. Home accident preventive strategies are measures put in place at home to prevent the occurrence of accident. It is the guiding principles or actions put in place at home which can safe guard inhabitant from loss of life or properties.

Safety education directed at parent may be an important tool in reducing injuries at home. Accident trends very and the type and frequency of accident suffered can be influenced by a range of factors such as weather, time of the year, demographics lifestyle and behavioural choices such as use of candles, substance misuse, climbing on a stool to change a light bulb, economic factors that can affect the type of product we buy including home safety aids, as well as services we use or do not use to maintain appliances. Regardless of these factors the bases of accident prevention which include awareness, supervision, risk assessment, hazard identification and reduction remain the same as asserted by Health, Social Services and Public Safety (2015).

The common types of accident includes falls, poisoning, burns/scolds choking, drowning suffocation or strangulation trapping or crushing injuries most of these accidents happen on land around the home. The aim of home accident preventive strategies is to reduce accidental deaths and injuries in the home, to raise awareness of the causes of home accidents, promote effective preventive measures to reduce such accident, facilitate effective training on skills and knowledge in home accident prevention across the Nation. The aim will be met though education and information programme to promote home safety, promote change in public behavior towards home accident prevention and the use of evidence based practice, models of good practice and by evaluating home accident preventive strategies by stakeholders.

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