Studying Home Safety through an Emergency Department randomized clinical trial

October 24, 2002

In collaboration with the Division of Emergency Medicine at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, IFCK Philadelphia conducted a randomized clinical trial to assess the effectiveness of an emergency department based home safety intervention on knowledge and practices related to home safety. Following the emergency department evaluation and treatment for their child's home injury, consenting caregivers completed an initial Home Safety Survey. All caregivers received written materials entitled "Home Safety Tips: How to Make Your Home Safer for You and Your Child" and verbal discharge instructions specifically targeting the prevention of the type of injury sustained by the child. The intervention group received additional safety counseling highlighting other home injury hazards and a home safety kit containing free home safety supplies and literature. The study showed that caregivers receiving the intervention demonstrated a significant increase in safety knowledge as indicated by improvement in their scores achieved on the Home Safety Survey.

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For further information regarding this and other IFCK-ED collaborative projects, contact Jill C. Posner, MD, Division of Emergency Medicine, posner@email.chop.edu, 215-590-1959.