Brief Child Safety Interventions in Emergency Departments (Safety in Seconds)

Safety in seconds is a randomized controlled trial of a computer tailored Injury Prevention program which was conducted in the waiting area of a level 1 pediatric trauma center. A computer kiosk was used to randomly assign participants to study groups, collect baseline data and generate tailored reports based on responses to assessment items. An intervention group received a personalized and stage-tailored safety report and a control group received a personalized, but otherwise generic report on other child health topics. Telephone follow-up interviews were conducted 2-4 weeks and again 4-6 months after enrollment. Home visits were completed for a subset (n=100) of parents who completed the 4-6 month follow-up interview. The study aimed to increase knowledge, self reported and observed safety behaviors.

Inclusion Criteria: Eligible parents or guardians had to be English-speaking; have a child between 4-66 months of age seeking treatment for an injury or medical complaint, or have an age-appropriate sibling of a child being seen for these reasons; live in Baltimore City; and live with the child at least some of the time. Exclusion Criteria: -parents which did not meet inclusion criteria

Gielen AC, McKenzie LB, McDonald EM, Shields WC, Wang MC, Cheng YJ, Weaver NL, Walker AR. Using a computer kiosk to promote child safety: results of a randomized, controlled trial in an urban pediatric emergency department. Pediatrics. 2007 Aug;120(2):330-9. doi: 10.1542/peds.2006-2703.