Evaluation of the Be Poison Smart!® Poison Prevention Intervention

Abstract

Background. Most poisonings to young children are preventable if parents/caregivers receive proper education and professional guidance. The Be Poison Smart!® (BPS) (http://www.bepoisonsmart.com) train-the-trainer intervention was designed to reach healthcare, education, and social service providers who impart the BPS message to parents/caregivers of young children. Methods. Using the “Do You Know How to Be Poison Smart!®?” Evaluation Tool, service providers and parents/caregivers were assessed pre- and 6 weeks post-BPS intervention to determine changes in poison prevention knowledge and poison prevention behaviors. The dependent variables were pre-post differences in total poison prevention knowledge score and in total poison prevention behaviors score. Data were analyzed descriptively and using one-way ANCOVA. Effect sizes were also calculated. Results. Post-test response rates were 28.7% for the service providers (146 out of 509) and 12.4% for parents/caregivers (68 out of 549). The mean knowledge score for service providers showed a significant increase of 13% (95% Confidence interval (CI) = 8.35%, 17%) from a pre-test mean of 9.4 (total possible = 13). Poison prevention behaviors reported by service providers significantly improved by 24% (95% CI = 15.6%, 32%) from a pre-test score of 5.7 (total possible = 11). The mean knowledge score for parents/caregivers significantly increased by 16% (95% CI = 7.2%, 24%) from 8.1, and the mean number of poison prevention behaviors reported by parents/caregivers significantly improved by 11% (95% CI = 3%, 19%) from 6.9. The effect sizes ranged from 0.48 to 0.69. Conclusions. The BPS intervention increased the self-reported knowledge and behaviors of most participants.

Keywords :

• Poison Prevention
• Evaluation
• Train the trainer

Notes

¹Ipecac has since been removed from the intervention. Home charcoal has not been added to the BPS. The Central Ohio Poison Center's directors determined it remains a possibility needing further study, but they anticipate most children who needed gastro-intestinal decontamination would also need evaluation/treatment in the ED. Also home activated charcoal is more expensive than syrup of ipecac, thus limiting its usefulness in a public campaign.