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Information sources accessed by parents following childhood poisoning

Jennifer A Rush1, David M Reith

  • 1Department of Emergency Medicine, Mater Children's Hospital, South Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

Emergency Medicine (Fremantle, W.A.)
|November 25, 2003
PubMed

Insights

Parents often seek information before emergency department visits for child poisoning. While Poisons Information Centres are underutilized initially, most parents contact health professionals for guidance.

Area of Science:

  • Pediatric Emergency Medicine
  • Toxicology
  • Public Health

Background:

  • Childhood poisoning is a significant concern requiring timely information access for parents/caregivers.
  • Understanding information-seeking behaviors is crucial for optimizing emergency response and prevention strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify the primary sources of information parents/caregivers utilize after a child's poisoning incident before reaching the emergency department (ED).
  • To assess the utilization rates of various information sources, including Poisons Information Centres, EDs, and family doctors.

Main Methods:

  • A survey was conducted using questionnaires administered to parents/caregivers of children presenting with poisoning to a children's hospital ED.
  • Data was collected from March to October 2001, encompassing 121 parent/caregiver respondents.

Main Results:

  • Information was sought prior to ED presentation in 97% of cases.
  • The Poisons Information Centre (PIC) was the initial source in 32% of cases, followed by the ED (21%) and family doctor (17%).
  • Multiple information sources were accessed in 46% of cases, with the PIC being the most frequently accessed overall (47%).

Conclusions:

  • Poisons Information Centres are underutilized as a first point of contact for childhood poisoning.
  • Nearly all cases involved prior information seeking, predominantly through direct contact with health professionals.
  • Enhancing awareness and accessibility of Poisons Information Centres could improve initial response to pediatric poisonings.
Abstract

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