Impact of Child Passenger Safety Education for Pediatric Nurses

Hospital-based child passenger safety education is effective in decreasing car seat misuse. Although child passenger safety training has been studied with pediatricians, emergency physicians, and emergency nurses, there is a lack of literature regarding child passenger safety training performed by pediatric nurses.

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of a 30-min child passenger safety education session on pediatric nurses' child passenger safety knowledge and confidence.

This was a pre- and posttest comparison study of pediatric nurses' knowledge and confidence levels following child passenger safety training in a pediatric trauma center in New York State conducted from September 2018 to March 2019. Registered nurses from the neonatal intensive care unit, pediatric intensive care unit, general pediatric unit, and mother-baby unit participated in the study. The intervention was a single 30-min child passenger safety training session provided by a certified child passenger safety technician. A demographic questionnaire and 11-question pre- and posttest surveys were used. Data were compared using the t test, the chi-square test, and Fisher's exact tests.

A total of 133 nurses participated, of which 97% were female and 50% were White. Posttest scores significantly increased (3.83; 95% CI [3.1, 3.7], t = 22.54, p≤ .001) in nurses' child passenger safety knowledge and confidence after a 30-min modular educational session.

Passenger safety training increased pediatric nurses' knowledge and confidence to provide child passenger safety education to families and caregivers. Child passenger safety education is recommended for all nurses who are expected to provide child passenger safety education regardless of unit location.