New Study Sheds Light on How to Improve Injury Prevention Counseling During Doctor Visits

Pediatric healthcare providers have quite a bit of ground to cover in their appointments, and sometimes, injury prevention might not be at the top of their minds. In fact, when it comes to issues such as teen driving safety, water safety, and poison prevention, patients and their families are only counseled about half of the time, and even fewer are aware of specific American Academy of Pediatrics Policy Statements on these topics.

A new study published in the journal Clinical Pediatrics examines how providers and medical trainees perceive and deliver counseling related to injury prevention topics. The study aimed to identify where the issues may lie in discussing these topics and determining what strategies can help improve the comfort level so that these topics are not ignored in appointment.

Christopher Gaw, MD In a new blog entry for Research in Action, Christopher Gaw, MD, a fellow physician in the Division of Emergency Medicine at CHOP, outlines the study findings and strategies for improving discussion of these topics, such as making sure they have access to a dedicated injury prevention specialist and better use of technology before and after the appointments.