Use of household safety devices among South Texas Colonia Residents

We investigated the prevalence of home safety hazards among Hispanic households with young children living in underserved low income neighborhoods known as colonias in Hidalgo County at the Texas-Mexico Border. The methodology followed was a cross-sectional, non-randomized pilot study using survey-based responses. The sample consisted of 60 colonia households with Hispanic children less than 6 years of age. Trained community health workers also known as promotoras identified the household parents and administered the survey. The results showed that 90 percent of the childrens parents considered that injury prevention is important. However, 24 families (40%) did not use electrical outlet plugs; 63.3% did not have smoke detectors; 80% did not have fire extinguishers; and 45% did not have stove guards. The number of home hazards ranged from 2 to 15 out of 27 possible hazards (mean=8.5, SD=3.4). This pilot study suggests that the colonia population is at risk of unintentional injuries due to inadequate home safety practices. There is a need to promote home safety through education interventions for children and their families in the Texas-Mexico border colonias

Use of household safety devices among South Texas Colonia Residents Academic Article