Still falling: a community-wide infant walker injury prevention initiative

Despite the well-known risk of injury associated with use of infant walkers, they remain popular, leading to large numbers of walker-related injuries. A coalition of health care providers and educators, with the assistance of retailers and medical and human service agencies, undertook an intensive multifaceted, community-wide intervention to educate the general and health care public regarding the dangers of infant walker use and thereby reduce the number of walker-related injuries in our community. Following this intervention, 28% fewer children presented annually at the two area pediatric emergency departments for walker-related falls down stairs than during the 30 months before the intervention. The magnitude of this reduction attributable to the intervention, however, is uncertain, as national trends during the study period revealed a similar decrease in walker-related injuries. Educational interventions alone may significantly reduce but not eliminate walker-related injuries; national policy measures are likely also necessary.