Determination of infant-safe homes in a community injury prevention program

The home is the most common site of childhood injury. To address this problem, Orange County Emergency Management developed the novel "Welcome to the World" program to provide paramedic-delivered home safety inspections and interventions to improve early childhood safety.

To determine the prevalence of infant-safe homes and to examine differences in home infant safety based on the number of children in the home.

Paramedics visited households with newborns or expectant mothers for a home visit at their request. Each visit included a home safety inspection, correction of certain safety practices, one-on-one teaching of injury prevention topics, and distribution of educational materials and safety devices. A retrospective analysis of data recorded during these visits included criteria used in defining an infant-safe home, including 1) presence of a functioning smoke detector, 2) bathwater temperature measured < 120 degrees F, 3) correct crib slat spacing, and 4) presence of a car seat.

Paramedics conducted 110 home visits, of which 57% were first-time parents. Only 33% (n = 10) of multiple-child homes and 38% (n = 14) of one-child homes were defined as infant safe by meeting all four criteria.

An alarmingly low number of homes were infant safe (n = 24) and the number of children in the home did not seem to affect home safety. Further research is needed to determine the efficacy of the "Welcome to the World" program.