Empowering Preschool Children With Personal Safety Skills

Preschool children are vulnerable to preventable accidents due to limited hazard awareness. This randomized controlled study evaluated the effectiveness of a Multiple Intelligences Theory-based Personal Safety Education Program (MIT-based PSEP) on preschool children's safety knowledge and skills. Sixty children aged 4-5 years were randomly assigned to an intervention group (n=30) or a control group (n=30). The intervention group received eight interactive MIT-based sessions, while the control group received routine education. Data were collected pre- and post-intervention using the Personal Safety and First Aid Subscale and analyzed with mixed-design ANOVA.

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Key information

Conditions

Safety Education Entertainment Intervention Education, Nursing Preschool Age Children Self Administration

Age range

4 year–5 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Karabuk University

Karabük, 78000, Turkey (Türkiye)

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Children aged 4-5 years enrolled in the participating preschool
Ability to speak and understand Turkish
Written informed consent obtained from parents/legal guardians
Availability of a parent/legal guardian to complete the outcome questionnaires at baseline and post-intervention

Exclusion criteria

Children aged 3 years
Children with incomplete baseline or post-intervention outcome data
Parents/legal guardians who did not return the questionnaires at baseline or post-intervention

Treatment and study plan

Multiple Intelligences Theory-Based Personal Safety Education Program (PSEP)

Behavioral

Children in the intervention arm received a Multiple Intelligences Theory-based Personal Safety Education Program (MIT-based PSEP) consisting of eight interactive sessions (15-20 minutes each) delivered over 5 weeks (two sessions per week). The program used multi-modal activities (games, drama, movement, music, visual materials, and coloring/design tasks) addressing multiple intelligence domains (verbal/linguistic, bodily-kinesthetic, visual-spatial, interpersonal, and musical). The content targeted personal safety knowledge and skills, including safe play and bicycle use, prevention of home accidents, recognizing hazards, protection from strangers, knowing what to do when lost, and sun safety. The intervention was delivered in small classroom groups by a trained child development specialist in collaboration with a pediatric nursing researcher.

Primary outcomes

Change in Health Education Scale- Personal Safety and First Aid Subscale (PSFAS) Score

Time frame: Baseline (pre-intervention) and 4 weeks after completion of the intervention (post-intervention)

Health Education Scale: Developed by Aydos (2013), this scale assesses preschool children's knowledge and skills in health education. The scale consists of six subscales: Personal Safety and First Aid (25 items, Cronbach's α = .945), Hygiene and Self-Care (26 items, α = .934), Nutrition (20 items, α = .936), Sleep (7 items, α = .885), Mental Health and Social Relationships (20 items, α = .934), and Neglect and Abuse (19 items, α = .941). All items are rated on a 5-point Likert-type scale, with higher scores indicating greater knowledge and skills.

In the present study, only the Personal Safety and First Aid Subscale (PSFAS) was used to assess children's personal safety knowledge and first aid skills. The PSFAS consists of 25 parent-reported items, and total scores range from 25 to 125. Higher scores indicate greater levels of personal safety and first-aid knowledge and skills. The primary outcome of the study was the change in children's personal safety knowledge and skills.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Karabuk University

Other

Registry information

Official study title

Empowering Preschool Children With Personal Safety Skills: A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Multiple Intelligences-Based Education Program

Important dates

Study start: 2024
Primary completion: 2024
Study completion: 2024
First posted: Mar 6, 2026
Registry last updated: May 4, 2026

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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