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Abstract
Background: An understanding of preferred sources of injury information among parents is needed to develop best practices for information dissemination. Yet, almost no research examines injury information seeking for a national sample of mothers.
Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in 2013 with 1081 mothers in the United States (U.S.) with at least one child <6 years. We measured self-report health literacy with the Morris Single-Item Screener (18% low), and eHealth literacy using the eHEALS (28% low).
Results: The internet was the most preferred source for injury information (76%), followed by health providers (44%), and family/friends (35%). Most mothers selected the internet as the first choice for information about bicycle helmets (65%) and car seats (63%). For poison prevention, preferences were mixed; 48% internet compared with 41% health providers. Mothers with low health literacy were more likely to have discussed injury prevention with their doctors (P = 0.022) and searched for injury information (P = 0.001), but less likely to report the internet as a top source (P < .0001). Mothers with low eHealth literacy were less likely to search for injury information (P < 0.0001) and report the internet as a top source (P < 0.0001), and slightly more likely to rely on health providers for information (P = 0.028).
Conclusions: Findings suggest the internet is a common source of injury prevention information, but health providers remain a valuable resource for mothers, especially those with lower literacy skills. Despite widespread internet use, health providers should be sure to communicate injury prevention information to mothers, especially those at risk for low health literacy and eHealth literacy.
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Notes on contributors
Jennifer A. Manganello
Jennifer Manganello is an Associate Professor at the University at Albany School of Public Health. She is a health communication scholar who incorporates theories, concepts, and methods from the fields of public health and communication. Her research focuses on health literacy as well as the effects of media on attitudes, behaviors, and policies that put young people (children, adolescents, young adults) at risk for negative health outcomes. She has applied a broad range of skills and methodologies (quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods) to conduct both primary data collection and secondary data analysis. She has published her work in journals such as the Journal of Health Communication, Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, and Public Health Nutrition. Before starting at UAlbany, Dr Manganello was a Post-Doctoral Research Fellow at the Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania, where she is currently a Distinguished Research Fellow. She earned her Ph.D. from the Department of Health Policy and Management at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Angela L. Falisi
Angela Falisi, MPH is a Fellow at the National Cancer Institute within the Health Communication and Informatics Research Branch (HCIRB). As part of this training program, Angela supports administrative and research priorities of the HCIRB. Her current areas of interest focus on health literacy, digital and mobile technology and social media, particularly how they affect health and inform innovative health education and communication strategies. In the past, Angela has held positions at the New York State Department of Health and at the University at Albany School of Public Health. She has also worked at the Skorton Center for Health Initiatives at Cornell University where she developed and delivered mental health outreach initiatives and psycho-educational alcohol intervention programs. Angela earned a Master's in Public Health (MPH) in Social Behavior and Community Health from the University at Albany, SUNY, and a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Society from Cornell University.
Kristin J. Roberts
Kristin Roberts graduated with her Master in Public Health in 2008 after completing her Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences at Ohio University and Master of Science from Miami University. She is currently a Research Project Coordinator in the Center for Injury Research and Policy (CIRP) at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital. Her research focuses on child safety, home safety and behavior modification. Ms. Roberts has over 8 years of experience as a Project Director and data analyst on federally-funded projects, large dataset analysis, and similar online surveys and parent focus groups.
Katherine C. Smith
Dr Katherine Clegg Smith is an Associate Professor in the Department of Health, Behavior and Society in the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She is a social scientist whose research over the past decade has focused on the communication of health information, with a special concentration in communication pertaining to the prevention and treatment of chronic disease. A focal concept in Dr Smith's research agenda is the consideration of health as a social product. Much of her research involves exploration of the ways in which people come to understand health topics and their own health experiences, and the role played by various social institutions in shaping such perceptions. Dr Smith directs the Johns Hopkins University Center for Qualitative Studies in Health and Medicine; her methodological expertise includes the collection, analysis, and interpretation of qualitative and mixed methods data pertaining to health communication. She has published more than 90 research papers; her theoretical and methodological interests have led her to work on a wide variety of public health issues including (but not limited to) tobacco, diet, injury, infectious disease, cancer, alcohol, and environmental concerns.
Lara B. McKenzie
Lara McKenzie, PhD, MA is a Principal Investigator in the Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital and an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine and the Division of Epidemiology, College of Public Health at The Ohio State University. Dr McKenzie's research focuses on how to increase adoption of parent safety behaviors such as the use of carbon monoxide alarms, smoke alarms, child safety seats and booster seats to prevent and/or reduce the consequences of childhood injuries. Dr McKenzie's research also focuses on injuries associated with consumer products and sports and activity-related injuries treated in hospital emergency departments. Dr McKenzie's influence is not limited to industry scientists and professionals. Her ease in communicating home injury hazards and solutions with parents has made her a highly sought after expert in mainstream media outlets. She has been interviewed in numerous national sources such as the New York Times, CNN, ABC, NBC, CBS, Time magazine, USA Today, The Today Show, NPR, among others.