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Professionals can make life a lot safer

Mary Luk

One of the most effective measures to prevent domestic childhood injuries is to arrange for a professional to visit your home.

Significant improvements were found after a home visit programme was introduced between 2002 and 2005. Subsidised by the government-established Health Care Promotion Fund, the pilot project showed that visits by well-trained volunteer para-professionals, under close supervision, were a cost-effective way of reducing domestic injuries. However due to a lack of funding, the project is now on hold.

Families with a child younger than three admitted to the emergency department of the Prince of Wales Hospital or Princess Margaret Hospital for unintentional injury or poisoning sustained at home were recruited for the project. A total of 170 families from 7,713 intakes were enrolled in the study.

Some families only received educational leaflets, while others had four home visits by two volunteers under the supervision of a nurse. This was followed up with telephone calls within 12 months. As home environments in Hong Kong are characterised by a lack of space, the study showed that home design and placement of furniture had a great impact on the risk of injuries. This needed to be detected and rectified through home visits.

To promote home and work safety, the Princess Margaret Hospital opened the Community Health Resource Centre in 2002 after receiving HK$2 million in donations, half from the Yuen Yuen Institute and the other half from the S K Yee Medical Foundation. The centre features different work and living environments, including a corner with home settings to educate parents and children on staying safe at home.

Arrangements are made for schoolchildren to visit the centre and the hospital's emergency ward. Nurses and teachers are also on hand to give pertinent talks.

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