Friday, August 20, 2010

A study to inform interventions to prevent unintentional poisoning of toddlers

A study by Beirens and colleagues published in the International Journal of Pediatrics reports on an explorative study on determinants of safely storing medication and cleaning products by parents to avoid poisoning in their kids. Unintentional poisoning is a major cause of nonfatal injuries in children aged 0-24 months. Associations of self-reported habits regarding 'child safe storage' of medication and cleaning products by parents with a range of family factors and motivations and attitudes were assessed. Data were gathered from a cross-sectional survey using self-administered questionnaires, mailed to a population sample of 2470 parents with toddlers. The study was based on the Protection Motivation Theory
The results suggests that health promotion activities promoting safe storage habits should particularly focus on parents' self-efficacy of storing poisonous products in a child safe manner and on the vulnerability of their child in their home concerning an unintentional poisoning incident.