• Jonathan Bryan Cooper-Sood, Cristal Chan, and Christine S Cho.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA.
• Pediatr Emerg Care. 2021 Dec 1; 37 (12): e784e787e784-e787.

ObjectiveMotor vehicle crashes are a leading source of pediatric morbidity and mortality in children younger than 13 years. Proper car seat safety device (CSD) markedly reduces mortality, but the majority of families misuse them. Emergency department (ED)-based educational interventions can improve knowledge patient regarding proper CSD use but historically have been resource intensive. Our study evaluated the utility of a novel educational intervention in improving patient knowledge of proper CSD use and in evaluating for proper CSD installation.MethodsParents of children younger than 14 years presenting to the ED were given a paper-based quiz followed by a CSD-educational handout. Improvement in patient knowledge and evaluation for proper CSD installation were evaluated by repeat quiz and a phone-based survey 2 to 4 weeks later.ResultsParents exhibited an 18% improvement in quiz answers evaluating knowledge of proper CSD use (P value < 0.0001). Eighty-two percent and 72% of families felt that the intervention improved their understanding of proper CSD use and increased their awareness of their importance, respectively, but only 18% had their CSD checked by a professional.ConclusionsA paper-based educational intervention in the pediatric ED is well received by parents, may improve patient knowledge surrounding proper CSD use, and encourages some families to get their CSDs checked for proper installation.Copyright © 2019 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

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