Citation

Barrios LC, Runyan CW, Downs SM, Bowling JM. Patient Educ. Couns. 2001; 44(2): 141-149.

Affiliation

The University of North Carolina Injury Prevention Research Center, Chapel Hill, NC, USA. lbarrios@cdc.gov

Copyright

(Copyright © 2001, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

11479054

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To describe routine injury prevention counseling; to observe how three visit components - printed prompts, parent remarks, and parent behaviors - affect such counseling; to describe the process and content of discussions about car seats as an example of routine injury prevention. METHODS: A total of 128 well-child visits of children under 7 months of age to a university pediatric clinic were videotaped (76% of eligible visits). RESULTS: Three injury topics were mentioned, on an average, per visit. Parents or caregivers rarely introduced injury topics (5%). Physicians frequently introduced those topics listed on age-specific prompting sheets (73%). Car seat counseling typically began with a physician's question (82%). Most asked simply about ownership or use (93%). Few addressed difficult issues, such as consistency of use (11%). CONCLUSIONS: Physicians bring up the injury topics that are prompted. However, most discussion is superficial. Printed prompts that address counseling process as well as content might be beneficial.