Injury prevention in the emergency department - A caregiver's perspective

Background: Emergency medicine physicians and their staff care for high-risk injured patients, making the emergency department (ED) an appropriate place to discuss injury prevention (IP). Objective: To determine family receptiveness to and short-term effectiveness of IP information delivery during an ED visit. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in an urban pediatric ED. Caregivers of children younger than 15 years, with any chief complaint, were approached to participate. The survey consisted of caregiver's background, IP information received by their primary care pediatrician, and their wishes for receiving IP information in the ED. At survey completion, participants were given an age-appropriate IP handout. Follow-up phone surveys were made,at 2 weeks to determine caregiver satisfaction and any self-reported IP changes made. Results: Two hundred fifty-one caregivers were approached. Two hundred forty-six (98%) were. interested in receiving IP information in the ED, and 217 (86%) consented to participate. Ninety-three percent felt that the ED should provide IP information; 83% believed it should be offered even if it prolonged their ED visit. There was no significant difference among participants with regard to who should provide the information or how it should be provided. One hundred thirty (60%) of 217 completed the follow-up survey. Ninety-seven percent felt that the IP information was useful, and 63% kept the handout in a retrievable place. Twenty-eight percent of caregivers who completed the follow-up survey reported to change their safety behavior as a result of their ED encounter. Conclusions: Many families surveyed in an urban pediatric ED wished for IP information in the ED setting. A simple IP intervention in an ED setting may encourage families to practice safer behaviors for their children.