Evidence of Interventions for the Prevention of Unintentional Injuries: Scoping Review

Background: Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death and disability among young children. Preventive strategies for unintentional injuries are mainly based on surveillance data and identifying risk factors. Objective: This study aimed to review and synthesize published literature that determined the effectiveness of interventions for preventing unintentional injuries among children. Methods: The methodological framework was supported by The Joanna Briggs Institute Reviewer’s Manual – Methodology for JBI Scoping Reviews as well as the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines. The inclusion criteria to include the studies in the review were unintentional injuries in children, interventions to prevent injuries, a brief description of the intervention and the outcome of the intervention, and articles published in a peer-reviewed journal and written in the English language. Results: In total, 21 articles were included in the review following the systematic search of key databases such as Web of Science, PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and gray literature for studies published between July 2013 and May 2023. Of the 21 articles, 16 were randomized controlled trials, 4 were nonrandomized controlled trials, and 1 was a mixed method study. The findings of the review showed that interventions, either as a single measure (video-based teaching, testimonial story-based teaching, health education, storybook reading) or in combination (knowledge quiz and simulation test, module-based teaching along with personal counseling, and teaching with the help of video and poster), have shown a considerable decline in the number and severity of injuries. The studies included various target populations, including children and adolescents between 0 and 19 years old. Conclusions: The review results indicate the need to plan, implement, and reinforce preventive measures and techniques to reduce unintentional injuries among children. They can also serve as a useful indicator for policymakers.