Peer-reviewed article
Analysis of the current status and influencing factors of health literacy regarding unintentional injuries in young children among parents in ethnic regions of Western China.
Shen Y, Zeng Z, Ma Q, Deng X, Wen D et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how well parents in ethnic minority regions of Western China understand how to prevent unintentional injuries in young children. Researchers surveyed parents from 18 kindergartens and found that only about 55% had adequate health literacy on this topic. Parents in rural areas, unemployed parents, and those without prior safety training had significantly lower levels of knowledge. The study identifies parental education, occupation, and access to training as key factors affecting awareness of injury prevention.
Key points
- Only 54.79% of parents in ethnic regions of Western China possess adequate health literacy regarding unintentional injuries in young children
- Parental gender, residential area (rural vs urban), occupation, number of children, training experience, and self-learning experience were significantly associated with health literacy levels
- Rural parents and unemployed parents showed particularly low levels of health literacy
- Experience with relevant knowledge training and self-directed learning were protective factors associated with adequate health literacy
- The study recommends developing safety education and training programs to improve parents' awareness of injury risk prevention and control
Limitations
This is a cross-sectional survey measuring association rather than causation, so we cannot determine whether training causes better health literacy or if parents with better literacy are more likely to seek training. The study is limited to ethnic regions of Western China and may not represent all of China or other settings.
Abstract
Objective To comprehend the present state of health literacy concerning unintentional injuries among parents in ethnic regions of Western China and to analyze the associated influencing factors, offering a reference for the formulation of strategies aimed at enhancing health literacy for unintentional injuries among parents of young children and for refining the management of safety education for young children. Methods Cluster sampling was employed to select parents from 18 kindergartens in a specific ethnic region of Western China as the participants of the study. A general information questionnaire and a self-mad health literacy assessment scale for unintentional injuries in young children were utilized for the status survey. Data were statistically described and analyzed using SPSS 27.0 software. Univariate analyses and multivariate binary logistic regression were performed to identify factors associated with adequate health literacy. Results 54.79% of the parents possess health literacy regarding unintentional injuries in young children. Univariate analysis revealed statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in the child's grade, parent's gender, educational level, number of children, residential area, occupation, living area size, monthly family income, experience with relevant knowledge training, self-learning experience, and willingness to receive training. Binary Logistic regression analysis also indicated statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) in the parent's gender, residential area, occupation, number of children, experience with training on relevant knowledge, and self-learning experience. Conclusion Parental health literacy regarding unintentional injuries in young children in ethnic regions of Western China is generally low, particularly in rural areas and among unemployed parents. Based on this, safety education and training programs for parents can be developed to bolster their awareness of risk prevention and control, encourage self-directed learning behaviors, and enhance their health literacy in this area.