[Keys to preventing accidents in children in the school context].
OBJECTIVE
To learn about children's perception of the causes and prevention strategies involved in school accidents.


METHODS
The sample included 584 school children aged 8-9 years from Navarra. A mixed design was chosen by questionnaire with three open-response questions and one multiple-choice assessment. Analysis was performed in two phases: 1) qualitative development of categories and dimensions of the responses of narrative content, and 2) quantitative variables for recoding correlational analysis.


RESULTS
22 categories emerged, which make up three perceptual dimensions: 1) attribution of causality (5), 2) identification of mechanisms of avoidance (11), and 3) development of coping strategies (6). The correlation intra-variables portray varying degrees: on the one hand, moderate positive numbers (r>0.5) in allocating and identifying causality avoidance mechanisms and, on the other hand, high positive correlation values (r>0.7) referred to developing coping strategies.


CONCLUSIONS
Children are able to identify accidents as a health problem. They question the multiplicity of elements involved and relate the origin and kind of accident to prevention and support mechanisms.
Departamento de Psicología y Pedagogía, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Pamplona, España. Electronic address: igabari@unavarra.es.
M Inés
MI
Gabari Gambarte
Departamento de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad Pública de Navarra, Pamplona, España.
Raquel
R
Sáenz Mendía
D000056:Accident Prevention; D000057:Accident Proneness; D015984:Causality; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D002666:Psychology, Child; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012572:School Health Services; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
Accident prevention; Accidentes escolares; Health promotion; Prevención de accidentes; Promoción de la salud; Salud escolar; School accidents; School health