Poisoning prevention knowledge and practices of parents after a childhood poisoning incident

This study investigated the effectiveness of a poison center-initiated mailed intervention on improving the preventive practices of families whose preschool child had recently experienced a poisoning incident. A low-cost, mailed poisoning prevention packet consisting of telephone stickers, a +f41 coupon for syrup of ipecac, one slide-style cabinet lock, a nine-step checklist for "poison-proofing" the home, pamphlets, and a cover letter was tested prospectively on a population of parents calling a poison center for advice about possible poisoning exposures involving their preschool children. Parents without ipecac 1 week after the incident were randomized so that half received the mailed intervention. A "blind" follow-up telephone interview was conducted 3 months later. Of the 336 original families enrolled in the study, 301 (90% retention) completed the follow-up interview. Those who had received the intervention were more likely to have a telephone sticker than control families (78% vs 39%; P < .0001) and were more likely to be using at least one slide lock in the home (59% vs 40%; P < .001). However, intervention families were no more likely to have ipecac on hand than control families (57% vs 52%; P = not significant) and did not indicate a higher rate of compliance with suggested changes in other behaviors and practices to prevent poisonings. A poisoning recurrence rate of 3.7% was seen in the total sample during the 3-month period of surveillance; there was no difference between groups in recurrence rate. Even after a poisoning event, parents may not be sufficiently motivated to take poisoning prevention measures on their own.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)