Abstract:

Injury in the home is extremely common, accounting for around a third of all injuries. The majority of injuries of children under five and people aged 75 and over occur at home. This study was done to review the evidence for the effect on injuries of modification of the home environment with a primary focus on interventions to reduce physical hazards. The study concluded that there is insufficient evidence to determine the effects of interventions to modify environmental home hazards. Further interventions to reduce hazards in the home should be evaluated by adequately designed randomised controlled trials measuring injury outcomes. Recruitment of large study samples to measure effect may be a major consideration for future trials.