The roles of child,parent and environmental factors in pedestrian supervision

Pedestrian injuries are a significant health risk to children, particularly those 5–9 years of age. Surprisingly, few studies have explored parent-related factors that may moderate this risk. We examined parental supervision choices in the context of child pedestrian experience, parent perceptual factors and varying levels of environmental risk. A series of street crossing scenarios were used to examine the roles of child, parent and environmental factors in determining parents’ supervision choices. Parents recognised differing levels of risk across environmental conditions and altered their supervision choices accordingly. Child age and parental risk perception were significantly predictive of supervision choices. Our results demonstrate that parents assess multiple factors when determining the intensity of supervision necessary for their children. Notably, parents adjust their supervision in direct relation to changes in the physical environment. Implications of these findings for injury prevention and future research are discussed.     

The roles of child, parent and environmental factors in pedestrian supervision

Pedestrian injuries are a significant health risk to children, particularly those 5-9 years of age. Surprisingly, few studies have explored parent-related factors that may moderate this risk. We examined parental supervision choices in the context of child pedestrian experience, parent perceptual factors and varying levels of environmental risk. A series of street crossing scenarios were used to examine the roles of child, parent and environmental factors in determining parents' supervision choices. Parents recognised differing levels of risk across environmental conditions and altered their supervision choices accordingly. Child age and parental risk perception were significantly predictive of supervision choices. Our results demonstrate that parents assess multiple factors when determining the intensity of supervision necessary for their children. Notably, parents adjust their supervision in direct relation to changes in the physical environment. Implications of these findings for injury prevention and future research are discussed.     

Strategies and goals of community-based injury prevention programmes--a mixed-methods study of 25 Scandinavian WHO Safe Communities

Documentation and analysis of prevention goals and interventions employed by community-based injury prevention programmes is vital to advance the knowledge and understanding of synergistic multi-strategy injury prevention programmes. This study examined the goals and interventions of 25 Scandinavian community-based injury prevention programmes in WHO-designated Safe Communities. Collection and analysis of quantitative data from survey questionnaires to the programme coordinators was followed by collection and analysis of qualitative data from structured interviews with programme coordinators from eight of the programmes. The results demonstrated that the programmes under study predominantly relied on "intuitive" and subjective methods for selecting interventions. The programmes largely failed to transform injury surveillance data into information and knowledge that could prioritize community safety strategies and measures, due to insufficient time and personnel resources. The results demonstrated the importance of combining passive approaches with active interventions. Educational efforts were considered essential to the programmes. The programmes preferred to rely on broadly stated goals rather than specific objectives.     

Strategies and goals of community-based injury prevention programmes – a mixed-methods study of 25 Scandinavian WHO Safe Communities

Documentation and analysis of prevention goals and interventions employed by community-based injury prevention programmes is vital to advance the knowledge and understanding of synergistic multi-strategy injury prevention programmes. This study examined the goals and interventions of 25 Scandinavian community-based injury prevention programmes in WHO-designated Safe Communities. Collection and analysis of quantitative data from survey questionnaires to the programme coordinators was followed by collection and analysis of qualitative data from structured interviews with programme coordinators from eight of the programmes. The results demonstrated that the programmes under study predominantly relied on ‘intuitive’ and subjective methods for selecting interventions. The programmes largely failed to transform injury surveillance data into information and knowledge that could prioritize community safety strategies and measures, due to insufficient time and personnel resources. The results demonstrated the importance of combining passive approaches with active interventions. Educational efforts were considered essential to the programmes. The programmes preferred to rely on broadly stated goals rather than specific objectives.     

Knowledge,attitudes and beliefs towards injury prevention: a population-based telephone survey

Public knowledge and beliefs about injury prevention are currently poorly understood. A total of 1030 residents in the State of Queensland, Australia, responded to questions about injury prevention in or around the home, on the roads, in or on the water, at work, deliberate injury and responsibility for preventing deliberate injury allowing for comparison with reported injury prevalence data. Overall, the youngest members of society were identified as being the most vulnerable to deliberate injury with young adults accounting for 59% of responses aligning with reported data. However, younger adults failed to indicate an awareness of their own vulnerability to deliberate injury in alcohol environments even though 61% of older respondents were aware of this trend. Older respondents were the least inclined to agree that they could make a difference to their own safety in or around the home but were more inclined to agree that they could make a difference to their own safety at work. The results are discussed with a view to using improved awareness of public beliefs about injury to identify barriers to the uptake of injury prevention strategies (e.g. low perceived injury risk) as well as areas where injury prevention strategies may receive public support.     

Knowledge, attitudes and beliefs towards injury prevention: a population-based telephone survey

Public knowledge and beliefs about injury prevention are currently poorly understood. A total of 1030 residents in the State of Queensland, Australia, responded to questions about injury prevention in or around the home, on the roads, in or on the water, at work, deliberate injury and responsibility for preventing deliberate injury allowing for comparison with reported injury prevalence data. Overall, the youngest members of society were identified as being the most vulnerable to deliberate injury with young adults accounting for 59% of responses aligning with reported data. However, younger adults failed to indicate an awareness of their own vulnerability to deliberate injury in alcohol environments even though 61% of older respondents were aware of this trend. Older respondents were the least inclined to agree that they could make a difference to their own safety in or around the home but were more inclined to agree that they could make a difference to their own safety at work. The results are discussed with a view to using improved awareness of public beliefs about injury to identify barriers to the uptake of injury prevention strategies (e.g. low perceived injury risk) as well as areas where injury prevention strategies may receive public support.     

A new millennium and a new Journal for Injury Control and Safety Promotion

Youth violence continues to be a serious and too prevalent problem in the United States. There is increasingly compelling evidence that the exceptionally high levels of mortality are linked to access to guns by youth. There is also evidence that youth violence occurs in multiple forms and that these differing forms call for different prevention strategies. Some youth violence is situational, some is best understood within its relationship context, some occurs as part of a predatory criminal activity, and some seems to be the result of serious psychopathology. This paper provides a review of the current understanding of the epidemiology of youth violence in the United States, applies a developmental-ecological perspective to risk, reviews the empirical support for differing prevention approaches, and suggests practice, research, and policy implications of this knowledge base.     

Risk management behaviour by the Northern Ireland food consumer

The main criteria that consumers use during the decision‐making process when purchasing food have traditionally been a combination of prices, incomes, taste and social attitudes, with price being seen as the main determinant. However, in the past 10 years risk has become a ‘new’ criterion that can affect the consumer's decision whether or not to purchase a particular food item. The effect of the perception of risk has been observed during the numerous food scares in the last decade and in trends for the demand for foods that connote a health image. This research, carried out in Northern Ireland, looked at how consumers quantified and managed risk. The research involved 202 primary food consumers and identified the factors that were perceived to be important from both a societal and a personal perspective. Using principal component analysis techniques, societal food risks were seen as either processing or dietary, and personal food risks were seen as either extrinsic or intrinsic. Further investigation into the attributes of the personal risk using the same techniques revealed a three‐factor solution described as fear, involvement and newness. Although these factors cannot be used as predictors of the risk associated with a particular food, they help to describe and explain how the risk may be managed. The relationship between two of the factors, involvement and fear, provide a framework for understanding the way consumers manage their perception of the risk, particularly of high‐risk items. Consumer and scientific knowledge of the risk in question, and the degree of control over the risk were seen as important in the management of the risk in question. The conceptualization of the mechanism by which risks are processed and acted upon provides information regarding risk management and communication strategies that should be employed by educators, food retailers and government policy makers.     

Knowledge,attitudes, and practices of family physicians and nurses regarding unintentional injuries among children under 15 years in Cairo,Egypt

Unintentional injuries are a leading cause of death among children, especially in developing countries. Lack of reliable data regarding primary health care professionals' role in childhood unintentional injury prevention hinders the development of effective prevention strategies. A survey of 99 family physicians and nurses from 10 family health centres sought to develop insight into their knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding unintentional injury prevention for children <15 in Cairo, Egypt. Approximately, 60% were familiar with the terms unintentional injuries and injury prevention. Falls and road traffic crashes were identified as primary causes of childhood injuries by 54.5%. While >90% agreed injury prevention counselling (IPC) could be effective, only 50.5% provided IPC. Lack of time and educational materials were the leading barriers to provision of IPC (91.9% and 85.9%, respectively), while thinking counselling is not part of their clinical duties was the least perceived barrier (9.1%). There is a large disconnect between providers' knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding IPC, more training and provision of counselling tools are essential for improving IPC by Egyptian medical providers.     

It’s time to close the experimentation gap in advertising: Confronting myths surrounding ad testing

Marketers know that running experiments is a proven way to improve results and gain competitive advantage against rivals. Despite this knowledge—and the fact that experiments are now easier to conduct than ever before—data shows that marketers consistently under-experiment. In this article, we examine why this gap exists and what can be done to close it. We do so by connecting with senior-level marketing professionals representing seven consumer-facing industries in two phases. First, through a series of interviews, we gain initial understanding of the concerns, challenges, and realities of those working in the industry. Following this phase, we surveyed a larger group to corroborate and extend our initial findings, comparing cases to identify challenges and the strategies used to overcome them. We present our findings as a series of experimentation myths before closing with a broader perspective on how organizations can infuse experimentation into their culture.     

Home-related injuries among under-five-year children and mothers' care regarding injury prevention in rural areas

This cross-sectional study was conducted in rural areas of Twiserkan (Toyserkan) County, in Iran, to assess factors associated with home-related injuries among under-five-year children and their mothers’ care regarding injury prevention. Mothers who had their under-five-year-old children injured within a 12-month period were identified from recorded information in Twiserkan Health Center. Then, data were gathered using pre-tested questionnaire and through interview with injured children's mothers. The questions were about characteristics of the children's injuries and their mothers’ care regarding injury prevention, using PRECEDE (Predisposing, Reinforcing, and Enabling Constructs in Educational/Environmental Diagnosis and Evaluation) model with focus on knowledge and attitude; enabling and reinforcing factors; and mothers' preventive behaviours. The study results showed that 197 out of 210 total identified mothers took part in the study. The reported injuries were 11.68%, 39.09%, and 49.24%, respectively, for severe, moderate, and mild cases. Fall was the most frequent injury with 35%. Among PRECEDE model constructs, there was a statistically significant correlation between mothers' knowledge and injury severity among children. Home-related injuries are an important health problem among study population and their prediction and prevention are necessary. Enhancement of mothers’ knowledge can be helpful to improve child injury prevention.     

Child injury prevention in Vietnam: achievements and challenges

As with other South Asian countries, injury is becoming a leading cause of death and morbidity among children in Vietnam. In response to the increasing burden of child injury, government and non-government agencies in Vietnam have combined efforts during the last decade to develop and implement various child injury prevention strategies and programmes. This article provides, through a review of relevant documents and interviews with major stakeholders, an overview of these efforts and highlights major challenges to child injury prevention in the country. The findings point to notable achievements in terms of increasing awareness of injury facing children at all levels in the community and developing a sound injury prevention policy framework in a relatively short period of time. However, much needs to be done to implement necessary environmental and legislative changes, strengthen child injury surveillance and injury prevention research; and to improve access to health services. The insight into the experience of Vietnam could benefit other low- and middle-income countries with a high burden of child injury.     

Child injury prevention in Vietnam: achievements and challenges

As with other South Asian countries, injury is becoming a leading cause of death and morbidity among children in Vietnam. In response to the increasing burden of child injury, government and non-government agencies in Vietnam have combined efforts during the last decade to develop and implement various child injury prevention strategies and programmes. This article provides, through a review of relevant documents and interviews with major stakeholders, an overview of these efforts and highlights major challenges to child injury prevention in the country. The findings point to notable achievements in terms of increasing awareness of injury facing children at all levels in the community and developing a sound injury prevention policy framework in a relatively short period of time. However, much needs to be done to implement necessary environmental and legislative changes, strengthen child injury surveillance and injury prevention research; and to improve access to health services. The insight into the experience of Vietnam could benefit other low- and middle-income countries with a high burden of child injury.     

Poisonings

Manufacturers of household products – including appliances, exercise equipment, and even some children's toys – expect consumers to supervise their children to prevent product related injuries. This approach to hazard prevention places the burden of safety on parents and caretakers. This study examined actual supervision practices of parents of children between the ages of two and six years. 59 parents, aged 31 to 40 years, residing in Montgomery County, Maryland, completed a 24-item self-administered questionnaire, consisting of multiple choice and open-ended questions. Nearly all respondents reported that there are times when their children are in a different room from them. When the children are out of sight, parents reported checking on their children periodically, with increasingly longer periods between observations, as the child gets older. Nearly half of the children got out of bed in the morning always or often before a parent. Ninety-five percent of parents perceived that their child was at no risk or slight risk of injury when getting up in the morning before them. In conclusion, it can be said that many parents supervise their children by being close-by and on-hand as needed, rather than being directly involved in the child's activities. Manufacturers are encouraged to employ passive measures and sound designs, rather than rely on close parental supervision for injury prevention.     

Factors related with unintentional injuries in children with newly diagnosed attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

The aim of the present study was to investigate the factors associated with unintentional injury in children newly diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). One thousand four hundred and thirty children between the ages of 6 and 18 who were diagnosed with ADHD for the first time in child psychiatry outpatient clinics were included in the present study. The socio-demographic information of the children, their developmental histories, chronic physical health conditions, comorbid psychiatric disorders, and information obtained via the Turgay DSM-IV-based Child and Adolescent Disorders Screening and Rating Scale were examined retrospectively. It was determined that 12.8% of the children (n = 183) experienced unintentional injury. It was established that age, male gender, disruptive behavioural problems, and low education levels among mothers were predictive of unintentional injuries. The results of the present study suggest that behavioural problems accompanying ADHD and comorbid psychiatric disorders are important in terms of unintentional injuries.     

Parents' perceptions, attitudes and behaviours towards child safety: a study in 14 European countries

Injury is the leading cause of death for children 0- 19 years of age in Europe, accounting for 3.1 deaths per 10 000 children per year. The youngest children of the ages 0-4 years require the most protection in this age group, with 2.5 injury-related deaths per 10 000 children in Europe annually. As parents are the primary caregivers of children, it is necessary to learn more about parents' perceptions, attitudes and behaviours towards child safety. This study presents the findings of a 14-country study in Europe on this theme. A quantitative survey of parents of children aged 5 years or under was performed in 14 EU member states in order to enable better targeting of prevention efforts aimed at educating parents. The total sample size was 2088. The results show that 95% of parents reported that they personally take measures to avoid accidental injury to their children. Their top concern with regard to safety of their children was children being hit by a car. The most common response, when asked why some parents find it difficult to protect their children from accidental injury, was not being able to watch their children constantly. Lack of awareness or knowledge about the causes of accidents was the second response. Two-thirds of parents would like to see more help from the government to prevent childhood injuries. Three-quarters of parents agreed that child injuries can be avoided. It was concluded that parents want to be better informed about the causes of child accidents and about actions they and society can take to reduce injury-related risks to children.     

Social construction of consumer risk assessments

Subjects in a laboratory experiment were randomly assigned to a condition wherein they were able to discuss potential benefits and risks of a new technology within a small group, or a condition wherein they evaluated the new technology as individuals only. Structural equation analysis indicated that perceived risk, when formed through contact with others, had a significantly different impact on risk response, as measured by intentions and behaviour, than perceived risk that was formed without contact with others. Incorporating a social process perspective and methodology into future research may provide improved understanding of the determinates of consumer risk perception and of the relationship between risk perception and risk response.     

Risk Perception in the Short Run and in the Long Run

There is an ongoing controversy in financial economics regarding the role of time horizon in portfolio selection. This problem is relevant in a broader context, wherever consumers or managers make decisions that involve both time and risk. The purpose of this paper is to review recent findings from the decision making literature so as to shed new light on how the short run vs. long run contingency may determine risk taking and perception.     

The golden age of protein: initial teacher trainee's perception of food and eating

We make use of proteins in all aspects of our daily lives from soft‐centred sweets to biological washing powders, yet we often misunderstand their fundamental role in our diet. This paper will draw on the findings of a three‐phase research project into initial teacher trainee's perception of food and eating. Trainees demonstrated several similar misconceptions about the food they eat and in particular, the role of proteins. Examples included the role of proteins as an energy source, the relationship between proteins, amino acids and nitrogen and the role of DNA in synthesising proteins. These misconceptions were often translated into practice in the diet the trainees consumed and the messages they passed on, with confidence, to their pupils. In addition to the misconceptions, teaching approaches used by the trainees were highly mechanistic, with little reference being given to the relationship between food and the circumstances in which it is eaten. The relationship between dietary intake and exercise/circumstance is explored in secondary schools within food technology lessons. Often, however, it is too late to rectify the deeply entrenched misconceptions, attitudes and eating habits that school children have developed in their primary years. This paper makes the firm recommendation that we should reconsider the dietary messages we are sending out either directly or indirectly, to children. It emphasises the need to relate teaching and learning to everyday experiences. The paper concludes by suggesting possible strategies by which this may be achieved, with the protein featuring centre‐stage.