Medication Safe - Dr. Ben Tsutaoka

The following  information is part of a press release from the Home Safety Council.

The entire press release can be found here:

http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/new-home-safety-councilr-research-shows-the-majority-of-families,301941.shtml 

WASHINGTON, March 4, 2008 /PRNewswire/ — According to the national nonprofit, Home Safety Council, accidental poisoning is the second leading cause of home injury death in the United States. Yet, a new survey by the Council found that only one percent of U.S. adults ranked poisoning at the top of the list when asked to identify their leading home safety concern, proving the need for aggressive home poisoning prevention education.

The nationwide Safe Haven survey was commissioned by the Home Safety Council to gauge the public’s perceptions and actions related to the top home injury dangers. Poison-related findings also show that less that one-fifth (18 percent) of U.S. adults have put safety locks on cabinets or have posted the Poison Control Help number near phones — two of the key actions recommended by the Home Safety Council to reduce the risk and severity of poisoning injuries.

“Perhaps the most important finding from the Safe Haven research is that parents and other caregivers aren’t doing nearly enough to protect themselves and their families from serious home poison dangers,” said Dr. Angela Mickalide, Director of Education and Outreach for the Home Safety Council. “Poison Prevention Month is a helpful reminder for all of us to take action against this major health problem.”

The most critical actions the Home Safety Council recommends taking now are to: read product labels and lock away those with the words “Caution,” “Warning,” or “Danger” on the label; keep dangerous products away from food and drinks; properly use and maintain fueled appliances; install a Carbon Monoxide alarm near sleeping areas; and put the Poison Control Help number (1-800-222-1222) and other emergency numbers next to every phone and store them in cell phones directories.

About Home Safety Council

The Home Safety Council (HSC) is the only national non-profit organization solely dedicated to preventing home-related injuries that result in nearly 20,000 deaths and 21 million medical visits on average each year. Through national programs, partnerships and the support of volunteers, HSC educates people of all ages to be safer in and around their homes. The Home Safety Council is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization located in Washington, DC.

Contact: Valerie Pope Brand Resources Group, Inc. 703-739-8344 Home Safety Council

Article published in:

Pediatrics-Official Journal of The American Academy of Pediatrics

2007 Aug;120(2):e346-53. Epub 2007 Jul 3.

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/120/2/e346

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVES: Residential injuries cause significant morbidity and mortality in infants and young children. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends initiating injury-prevention counseling during health supervision visits in the first 6 months of life. The objectives of this study were to describe and compare self-reported and observed home safety practices in urban, low-income families who were expecting or had a child <12 months old and to assess the feasibility of using safety products depending on the design and repair of urban homes.

PARTICIPANTS AND METHODS: Women who were pregnant or had an infant <12 months old and who were enrolled in East Baltimore’s Healthy Start home-visiting program were eligible for the study. For this pilot project, we used a prospective predesign/postdesign. Maternal self-report and investigator home observations documented the use of working smoke alarms on each level of the home, stair gates or doors blocking the top and bottom of all staircases, adult medication storage in locked cabinets, and the environmental feasibility of safety-product use.

RESULTS: Home safety practices were higher by maternal self-report than by investigator observation. Fifty-five percent of families who reported a working smoke alarm on every level of the home had nonworking or absent smoke alarms noted during investigator observation. Of assessed staircases, 67% could not accommodate a wall-mounted gate at the top of the stairs, and 38% could not accommodate a pressure-mounted gate at the bottom of the stairs. Although most families reported locked storage of medications, 77% had unlocked medication storage documented during home observation.

CONCLUSIONS: In this sample of urban families, implementation of American Academy of Pediatrics-recommended safety practices is low. The structural design of urban homes may be a significant barrier to home safety-product use. The American Academy of Pediatrics Injury Prevention Program sheets, manufacturers of safety products, and legislators need to address injury-prevention issues unique to urban, low-income families.