Education of staff--a key factor for a safe environment in day care.
In order to create a safe environment in day-care settings, an understanding of factors within the organization of day care, factors which influence safety, is essential. Day-care directors in 83 daycare centres completed a mail-in survey that contained questions about professional experience, the day-care centre's organization of child safety measures and a battery of questions designed to evaluate the directors' perceptions and beliefs about child safety. The day-care directors also carried out a safety inspection at their centre. The results were analysed using the multivariate logistic regression technique. The existence of a continuing plan for continued staff education in child safety was shown to be the strongest predictor of few safety hazards in day-care centres. The day-care directors' perceptions and beliefs about injury prevention were of less importance. This study indicates that in order to promote safety in day-care settings, an on-going plan for continued staff education in child safety should be a matter of routine. The introduction of such a plan should be the concern of the individual day-care directors, policy-makers and managers at the local and national level, and health professionals working in this field.
Sellström
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Department of Paediatrics, Institute of Clinical Science, Karolinska Institute, Huddinge, Sweden.
Bremberg
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D000056:Accident Prevention; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002656:Child Day Care Centers / Q000592:standards*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004777:Environment; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D011361:Professional Competence; D012449:Safety; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden