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Quantification of children's hand and mouthing activities through a videotaping methodology
K J Reed1, M Jimenez, N C Freeman
1Joint Program in Exposure Assessment, Rutgers University and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, USA.
Insights
This study developed a reliable videotaping method to measure children's hand-to-mouth behaviors, finding significantly higher contact rates than previously estimated. These findings are crucial for assessing children's exposure to environmental pollutants.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Child Development
- Toxicology
Background:
- Children's hand-to-mouth behaviors are a primary pathway for exposure to environmental pollutants.
- Accurate quantification of these behaviors is essential for robust risk assessment.
- Existing estimates of hand-to-mouth contact rates may not fully capture real-world frequencies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a videotaping methodology for quantifying children's hand and mouthing activities.
- To assess the frequency of hand-to-mouth contacts in young children in daycare and residential settings.
- To compare observed contact rates with existing regulatory default values.
Main Methods:
- A videotaping methodology was employed to record hand and mouthing activities of children aged 2-6 years in daycare and residential environments.
- Parental questionnaires were used to evaluate the accuracy of self-reported hand-to-mouth rates.
- Trained observers quantified activities from videotapes, with inter-rater reliability assessed throughout the study.
Main Results:
- The developed videotaping method demonstrated very good reliability, even over a year post-training.
- The average observed hand-to-mouth frequency rate was 9.5 contacts per hour.
- This observed rate is substantially higher than the 1.56 contacts per hour value considered by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Conclusions:
- The videotaping methodology provides a reliable and accurate means to quantify children's hand-to-mouth behaviors.
- Observed hand-to-mouth contact frequencies in children are significantly higher than current default estimates used in risk assessments.
- These findings necessitate a re-evaluation of exposure assessment models for environmental pollutants in children.
Abstract:
A videotaping methodology has been developed for use in quantifying the types and frequencies of children's hand and mouthing activities that could lead to exposure to environmental pollutants via dermal and ingestion pathways. Twenty children in day care, ages 3-6 years and 10 children in residences, ages 2-5 years, were videotaped during their waking hours for 1 day. Parents of each child completed questionnaires for the purpose of evaluating the accuracy of parental reports of hand-to-mouth rates. Videotapes were translated as quantifiable activities by two trained observers whose reporting reliability was checked throughout the investigation. Results determined that reliability of the videotaping method was very good, even over a year post-training. From videotape data, the average hand-to-mouth frequency rate was determined to be 9.5 contacts/h. These values are considerably higher than the current default value of 1.56 contacts/h under consideration by the EPA.