title: Providing child safety equipment to prevent injuries: randomised controlled trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the effectiveness of safety advice and safety equipment in reducing unintentional injuries for families with children aged under 5 years and living in deprived areas.
  
  
  METHODS
  Randomised controlled trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  47 general practices in Nottingham.
  
  
  METHODS
  3428 families with children under 5.
  
  
  METHODS
  A standardised safety consultation and provision of free and fitted stair gates, fire guards, smoke alarms, cupboard locks, and window locks.
  
  
  METHODS
  Primary outcome measures were whether a child in the family had at least one injury that required medical attendance and rates of attendance in primary and secondary care and of hospital admission for injury over a two year period. Secondary outcome measures included possession of safety equipment and safety practices.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No significant difference was found in the proportion of families in which a child had a medically attended injury (odds ratio 1.14, 95% confidence interval 0.98 to 1.50) or in the rates of attendance in secondary care (incidence rate ratio 1.02, 0.90 to 1.13) or admission to hospital (1.02, 0.70 to 1.48). However, children in the intervention arm had a significantly higher attendance rate for injuries in primary care (1.37, 1.11 to 1.70, P = 0.003). At both one and two years' follow up, families in the intervention arm were significantly more likely to have a range of safety practices, but absolute differences in the percentages were relatively small.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The intervention resulted in significant improvements in safety practices for up to two years but did not reduce injuries that necessitated medical attendance. Although equipment was provided and fitted free of charge, the observed changes in safety practices may not have been large enough to affect injury rates.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, School of Nursing, University of Nottingham, Queen's Medical Centre, Nottingham NG7 2HA. michael.watson@nottingham.ac.uk
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kendrick
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Coupland
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Woods
authors.forename: Deb
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Futers
authors.forename: Jean
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Robinson
mesh_terms: D000056:Accident Prevention / Q000295:instrumentation*; D002648:Child; D003152:Community Health Nursing; D004739:England; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011379:Prognosis; D011482:Protective Devices / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D017751:Safety Management; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000517:prevention & control*