Bottom Line: They’re Not as Safe as They Think

By Meri-K Appy
June 2007

In April 2007, Harris Interactive® conducted a national study for the Home Safety Council to gauge the U.S. public’s perception of home dangers and the safety steps that can be taken to avoid them.

What we found underscores the tendency for adults to overstate their safety knowledge. Most concerning, the study reveals a vast failure to appreciate the actual risk of home injury and a lack of motivation and/or knowledge to reduce it.

Misplaced Concerns

In our survey, we listed the top five causes of unintentional home injury and asked respondents to identify the injury they worry is most likely to happen in their own home. About one-third (35%) selected fires/burns first while only 19% selected falls and just 1% of adults selected poisoning as their top concern, meaning less than one-fifth of respondents were most worried about the most common home injury – falls. The actual five leading causes of unintentional home injury in the U.S., in ranked order, are: 1. falls, 2. poisoning and 3. fires/burns, followed by 4. choking/suffocation and 5. drowning.

The majority of adults (92 %) say they think about home safety, yet only one-third (36%) say they have taken a safety action. Most adults (82%) say they are knowledgeable about how to make their home safer, yet when asked to name three things they do or have done to keep their family protected from home injuries, nearly a quarter (23%) had no response; 18% admitted they had done/do nothing.

Fire Protection Findings

Eighty percent of adults say they are motivated to purchase, install and use home safety products. Overall, one-third (35%) say they are most concerned about fires and burns.

Overall, respondents report having the following fire safety products in their homes:

• Smoke alarm – 93%
• Fire extinguisher – 68%
• Fire escape plan – 26%
• Fire escape ladder – 6%
• Fire sprinkler system – 3%

Your Audience Needs to Know

What do the findings of this survey mean for your community? More than a quarter of adults (26%) say they are not worried an injury might happen in their home. That means your audience is most likely not as safe as they think they are.

You can help increase the safety awareness of your community by branching out your injury prevention messages to include not just fire and burn safety, but also the prevention of falls, poisoning, drowning and other leading hazards.

June is Home Safety Month

There is no better time to make your home safety outreach a comprehensive campaign. June is Home Safety Month and the theme is “Hands on Home Safety”. The goal of this important effort is to encourage the public to take simple steps to prevent injury inside and outside the home. The Home Safety Council has developed a wide range of home safety education materials that are ideal for use during Home Safety Month and all year long. Members of the Expert Network can receive free copies of the “Hands on Home Safety” poster, brochure and English/Spanish home safety flip book.

HSC is reaching out to companies and industry executives to encourage their participation in the campaign. Contact human resources managers in your community to make sure they know how they can incorporate home injury prevention into their employee wellness programs.

You can add a Home Safety Month graphic to your Web site, making it simple for your audience to click through your site to the Home Safety Council’s free Internet resources.

Learn more:

HSC/Harris Interactive survey