title: Unsafe caregiving practices experienced by 3-year-old children born prematurely.
abstract: Unsafe caregiving practices were studied in relation to risk factors for unintentional injuries as reported in the literature. A total of 54 premature children at 3 years of age and their mothers were observed twice in their homes for 2-hour periods, and the HOME Inventory was scored at one of the visits. Field notes from these visits were analyzed for unsafe practices, including hazards in the environment and inadequate parental supervision. Unsafe practices occurred for approximately 30% of the children studied. T-tests indicated that children with no unsafe practices had higher HOME scores than children with unsafe practices. In addition, lower HOME scores and later birth order were correlated with a greater number of unsafe practices. Maternal age and education, family size, child birthweight, and maternal perception of child vulnerability were not related to the presence of unsafe caregiving practices. The findings also suggest that the HOME Inventory may have promise as a useful tool in screening for unsafe caregiving of preschool children.
authors.affiliation: Greenville Pediatric Services, Inc., Greenville, NC, USA.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kisida
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Holditch-Davis
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Miles
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Carlson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003625:Data Collection / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007234:Infant, Premature; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D016487:Parenting; D012307:Risk Factors; D012931:Social Environment; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000209:etiology*