Iran Journal of Nursing

  Background : Injuries are the most leading cause of death in many countries and head injuries form a large number of them. Accidents are preventable and preventing them is one of the major factors in having a healthy society.

  Objective : To explain the characteristics of head injuries in relation to time, place and cause of accidents. Also to find out the association between the occurrence of head injury and mother's anticipation of and preventive measures taken by her.

  Design : This was a case- control study in design. The specification of the head injuries were described in case group. Also the mother's preventive actions were described in case group. Also the mother's preventive actions were assessed using a questionnaire in both groups and compared.

  Samples : 80 mother and their children of 0-12 years old which for the first time experienced head injuries were selected as case group. 160 mother who had never experienced head injury in any of their children were matched by children's age and sex and also socio economic status to serve as control group.

  Results : The head injuries in most cases happened during the working days, in the morning and outside the house. Fall from different places were found to be the cause in about 3/4 of them (76.6%). Falling form bicycle and also being pushed by other children were most frequent cause of fall outside the home (19.6%). There was a significant difference between preventive measures taken by mothers in case and control group both inside (p=0.000) and outside (p=0.0004) the home.

  Conclusion : Teaching mothers the importance of anticipating the accidents and also the methods of preventing them mass media is recommended. Hoping that teaching increases their knowledge and by increasing their knowledge be able to make them believe that accidents are preventable.