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Safety education in a pediatric primary care setting
Insights
An individualized, active-participation child safety education program for parents improved their knowledge of home hazards. This repetitive, age-appropriate intervention enhanced parental safety practices, though accident rates remained similar between groups.
Area of Science:
- Pediatrics
- Public Health
- Health Education
Background:
- Childhood injuries are a significant public health concern.
- Effective safety education for parents is crucial for injury prevention.
- Previous safety education methods have varied in their impact on parental knowledge and practices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effectiveness of a novel, three-part individualized child safety education program.
- To assess the impact of active parental participation on safety knowledge and home hazard reduction.
- To compare outcomes between an intervention group and a control group receiving routine safety education.
Main Methods:
- Randomized controlled trial involving 171 families with 6-month-old infants.
- Intervention group received individualized, participatory safety education at 6, 9, and 12 months.
- Control group received standard well-child visit safety education.
- Outcomes assessed via blinded home visits, including hazard recognition and observed home hazards.
Main Results:
- Intervention group parents recognized more potential home hazards (9.4 vs. 8.4, P < .05).
- Intervention group had a lower observed home hazard score (2.4 vs. 3.0, P < .02).
- No significant difference in reported accidents between groups.
Conclusions:
- Repetitive, individualized safety education with active parental involvement enhances parental safety knowledge.
- This educational approach can lead to improved home safety practices.
- Further research may explore strategies to translate increased knowledge into reduced accident rates.
Abstract:
Parents of 171 children coming to the Yale-New Haven Hospital Primary Care Center for their 6-month checkup were randomized into an intervention group (n = 85) and a control group (n = 86). Parents in the intervention group received a three-part individualized course in child safety that required active parental participation. Parts 1, 2, and 3 were given at the 6-month, 9-month, and 12-month well-child visits, respectively. Parents in the control group received routine safety education as provided at well-child visits. The educational phase of the study was completed by 129 families, 65 in the intervention group and 64 in the control group. Safety knowledge, number of hazards in the home, and reported accidents were assessed by a "blinded" community health worker approximately 1 month after the 12-month well-child visit. A total of 109 home visits were made, 55 for the intervention group and 54 for the control group. Parental safety knowledge was assessed based upon pictorial hazard recognition. Of 13 possible hazards, the mean number of hazards recognized by the intervention group parents was 9.4 (n = 55) v 8.4 (n = 50) by the control group parents (t = 2.1, P less than .05, two-tailed). A hazard score was determined for each family based on nine possible hazards observed at the home visit. The mean hazard score for the intervention group was 2.4 (n = 55 v 3.0 (n = 54) for the control group (t = 2.4, P less than .02, two-tailed). Parentally reported accidents and accidents reported in hospital records were similar for both groups. Results of this study suggest that age-appropriate safety education that is repetitive and individualized and that requires active parental participation results in an increase in parental knowledge and an improvement in certain safety practices.