Feasibility of subject recruitment and data collection for a study of supervision and child injury

Objectives: Assess the success of recruitment and data collection procedures for a proposed study of supervision and child injury.

Methods: Parents seeking medical care for an acute unintentional injury to their young child at an Emergency Department (ED) were eligible for study recruitment. An ED nurse briefly explained the study to eligible parents and requested permission for study personnel to contact them regarding participation. If the parent agreed, the nurse obtained their signature and contact information. Study staff then contacted the parent and explained the study. If the parent agreed to participate, a time to complete the study interview was scheduled.

Results: 117 parents agreed to be contacted, of which 17 (14%) met exclusion criteria. Of the 100 eligible, 58 (58%) interviews were completed and 14 (12%) parents declined participation. The majority of participants were mothers (97%), Caucasian (79%), married (60%), had a high school education (89%), were employed (67%). 67% were distracted (e.g., cooking, talking with friend) when the injury occurred. Household income was <$0,000/year for 17% and > $50,000 for 28% of participants. The injured child's average age was 2.3 years; 52% were boys; most of the injuries occurred during a fall (50%) and were lacerations (33%) or contusion/bruises (24%).

Conclusions: We successfully collaborated with the ED for participant recruitment and demonstrated the feasibility of the recruitment procedures and data collection for our proposed study of supervision and child injury. Furthermore, parents that agreed to participate in the study freely reported activities surrounding their child's injury event.