Pediatric injuries: Parental knowledge, attitudes and needs

Objective: To understand current parental knowledge, attitudes and information needs about childhood injuries. Method: Telephone survey of 1,516 parents in Metropolitan Toronto and Barrie. Results: Over half of the parents knew that injuries were the leading cause of death and about 70% believed that injuries were the most preventable of major health disorders. However, most parents were not particularly concerned, and most had limited understanding of the major causes of injury. Traditional modes of receiving safety information by obtaining pamphlets from doctors' offices or drug stores and through media coverage were preferred. Conclusions: Although parents were aware of the risk of general childhood injury, they need to be educated about specific injury risks and effective countermeasures. A concerted and thoughtful effort is needed to market safety information for parents in Ontario.