The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #43593

Lara B. Trifiletti, MA, Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Center for Injury Research and Policy, Baltimore, MD 21205, 410/614-5554, ltrifile@jhsph.edu, Andrea C. Gielen, ScD, ScM, CHES, Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, HH-750, Baltimore, MD 21205, and Allen R. Walker, MD, Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University, 600 North Wolfe Street, CMSC 144, Baltimore, MD 21287-3144.

House fires, motor vehicle crashes, and poisonings kill and injure thousands of children every year. Known effective safety practices are not uniformly practiced for reasons not well understood. Theoretical research critical to understanding parents’ safety practices has been insufficient to date. Using the Precaution Adoption Model (PAM), a stage-based behavior change theory, this research examines the utility of the PAM for understanding parents’ safety practices. This is the first study to use the PAM to evaluate the adoption of safety practices by parents. A cross-sectional design identified parents of children 0-5 years old visiting the Pediatric Emergency Department. This setting serves predominantly low-income urban children, a group at high risk for injuries. One-time telephone interviews are being conducted with 230 parents. Cognitive interviews were used to develop the PAM stage items for three safety practices, using smoke alarms, car safety seats, and safe poison storage. Demographic and psychosocial correlates (e.g., risk perceptions) of stage are also measured. To date, 41 interviews have been completed, with data collection scheduled to end April 2002. The proportion of parents within each PAM stage for each of the three safety practices will be reported. Demographic and psychosocial correlates for each stage will be examined using chi-square statistics. Regression models appropriate for binary or ordinal outcomes will be presented. Findings will add theoretical and practical knowledge to unintentional injury prevention efforts and will contribute to a better understanding of how behavioral sciences theories can explain parents’ safety practices.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to

• Understand how the utility of the Precaution Adoption Model differs for each of three safety practices (use of smoke alarms, car safety seats, and safe poison storage); 2)Recognize the importance of using theoretically grounded research for understanding parents' safety practices; and
• Assess how this information can be used to develop targeted and effective injury prevention programs in emergency department settings that typically serve large numbers of vulnerable families

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.