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Intima Alrimawi
Stratford University, USA
Keynote: J Nursing Research and Practice
Background: Childhood unintentional injury is an important global health problem that causes considerable mortality, morbidity and disability among children. These injuries are most common among under-fives and form a significant burden on healthcare systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Potentially, health professionals, especially doctors and nurses, have a pivotal role in the prevention of home injuries. In Palestine there is a paucity of research in this area. The aim of this study was to explore health professionals’ perceptions regarding the prevention of home injuries among children aged under-five years in Ramallah district in Palestine.
Methods: A qualitative approach was adopted; whereby semi-structured interviews were undertaken with twenty-four health professionals (doctors and nurses) who worked with children in a primary health care setting. The derived data were analysed using thematic analysis.
Findings: Three types of factors that facilitated or impeded the prevention of home injuries emerged. First, health professional related factors included lack of training, workload and lack of collaborations. Second, parental related factors included low economic status, level of education, lack of awareness and mothers’ employment status. Finally, the environmental factors which included home size and structure, lack of data, low priority for policy makers, lack of funds and the political situation.
Conclusion: The continuous education and specialised training for professionals are imperative in activate their pivotal roles in increasing the awareness of parents and children toward prevention of home injuries in the healthcare settings with limited resources such as Palestine. It is also recommended that policy makers activate the role of many parties, including media, health professionals, and other professionals in minimizing the unintentional home injuries among young children.
Dr. Alrimawi has five years of teaching experience and five years of RN experience inside and outside US. She has served as the associate nursing program director in Stratford University since August 2018. Her primary research interests are in the areas of child and community health, with the intention to develop the health policies, and improve the quality of health care mainly in low- and middle-income countries. Throughout her education and research, she received multiple grants and fellowships. She earned a Ph.D. in nursing studies and a master’s in advancing nursing practice from the University of Nottingham (UK) with a focus on child health area. Additionally, she received her Bachelor of Nursing Science from Sina College for Nursing and Midwifery and completed her master in community and public health at Birzeit University. Both schools are in Palestine.
E-mail: intimarimawi@yahoo.co.uk
+44 7915641605
