Vol. 2, Issue 2, Part A (2025)

Background: Paediatric accidents and injuries remain a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide, particularly in low- and middle-resource communities. Many of these incidents are preventable through targeted, evidence-based interventions. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a multi-component, community-based intervention integrating education, environmental modifications, and enforcement strategies to reduce paediatric accident and injury rates and improve safety behaviors.

Methods: A quasi-experimental study was conducted in two matched communities with children aged 0-14 years. The intervention community received a comprehensive safety program including caregiver education, distribution and installation of home safety equipment, traffic-calming measures, and enforcement support for helmet and restraint use. Data were collected over 12 months using structured household surveys, injury surveillance tools, and observational safety checklists. Outcomes were analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, logistic regression, and a difference-in-differences (DiD) approach.

Results: A total of 600 households participated. Injury incidence declined from 136.0 to 74.5 per 1, 000 child-years in the intervention arm compared to 133.3 to 122.8 in the control arm, with a DiD of −51.0 per 1, 000 child-years (IRR = 0.607, 95% CI = 0.419-0.879, p = 0.008). Significant improvements were observed in helmet use (+28.9 pp), child restraint use (+27.3 pp), functional smoke alarm coverage (+31.0 pp), safe storage practices (+31.0 pp), pool fencing (+17.0 pp), and safe hot-water temperature (+31.0 pp), all with statistically significant group differences.

Conclusion: The results demonstrate that locally tailored, community-embedded, multi-component injury prevention strategies can produce measurable reductions in paediatric injury rates and meaningful improvements in safety behaviors. Integrating these interventions into existing community health and governance systems, combined with surveillance, stakeholder engagement, and enforcement mechanisms, offers a practical and scalable pathway to strengthen child injury prevention at the population level