Randomised controlled trial of general practitioner safety advice

This study, in which 165 families attending a British general practice were randomly assigned to intervention and control groups, was designed to assess the effectiveness of office based child safety advice on the subsequent use of safety equipment and adoption of safe practices at home. Low income families were provided with safety equipment. At six weeks after the intervention, significantly more families in the intervention group used fireguards, smoke alarms, power point covers, cupboard locks for storing cleaning products, and devices to prevent doors slamming. Some safety practices also improved, and the authors note that the population approach was equally effective across socioeconomic strata. How generalisable such a program would be is open to speculation, but the results are positive in demonstrating a role for family doctors in delivering safety information and providing low cost safety equipment to families with young children (

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Parents' perceptions of safe practices

Fewer than half of the 412 Florida parents and caretakers believed most injuries to be preventable when they were surveyed to determine their home safety practices, perceptions of …