Do Urban Parents’ Interests in Safety Topics Match Their Children’s Injury Risks?

Objective: To assess childhood injury risk and parents’ injury interests, and the association between the two. Method: A cross-sectional computer and telephone survey was conducted as part of a randomized controlled trial. The authors enrolled parents of children being seen at an urban pediatric primary care practice and measured selected injury knowledge, beliefs and safety practices. Parents were asked to select two of four topics of interest and recommendations regarding them were included in a computer-tailored report. Results: Participants (N = 105) were assessed as being at risk for all four areas: poisoning (88%), fires (85%), falls (55%), and car crashes (18%). Parents were interested in poisoning (81%) and car crashes (49%); their interests were unrelated to child’s assessed risk. Conclusion: Soliciting parents’ interests prior to counseling may help to identify priority areas for counseling as well as dispel myths and unfounded fears regarding childhood injury risks.