Research investigating the impact of the Safe At Home National Home Safety Equipment Scheme on hospital admissions for unintentional injury has revealed a reduction in injury-related hospital admissions in children under 5, in the two years after the scheme ended.

Unintentional home injuries are a leading cause of preventable death in young children. Safety education and equipment provision improve home safety practices, but their impact on injuries is less clear. Between 2009 and 2011, a national home safety equipment scheme was implemented in England (Safe At Home), targeting high-injury-rate areas and socioeconomically disadvantaged families with children under 5. The main focus of the national scheme was to provide home safety equipment to the most disadvantaged families in areas with the highest injury rates. This is because children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to suffer accidental injuries or deaths.

The study, published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, analysed unintentional injury hospital admission rates in England where the scheme was implemented (intervention areas) and matched them with areas in England and Wales where it was not (control areas). Subgroup analysis by density of equipment provision was also carried out.

A key collaborative team composed of representatives from the University of Nottingham, Swansea University, University of Liverpool, Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), and Institute of Health Promotion and Education examined data from 57 656 homes which received safety equipment through the scheme.

Sarah Rodgers, Theme Lead of the Care and Health Informatics theme at ARC NWC and a member of the study team, said: “This research proves we need to reinstate the scheme to prevent injuries in the under 5s.

The national home safety equipment scheme was associated with a significant decrease in injury admissions in intervention areas compared with control areas. The effect was stronger where equipment provision was greatest. These results support the commissioning of home safety equipment schemes by healthcare commissioners, such as Clinical Commissioning Groups in England.”

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