WIP 84 - Effects of Safe Medication Storage Education in a Pediatric Emergency Medicine Setting – Prevention of Intentional and Unintentional Pediatric Poisonings and Exposures

Poster Number: WIP 84
Publication Number: WIP 84.2645

Background: Roughly 165 children are seen daily in US emergency rooms for medication ingestion. Decisions regarding medication access rely upon pediatric caregivers. Lethal means restriction and counseling have saved more lives than any other suicide prevention strategy. However, few studies have demonstrated such outcomes in emergency departments. Providing education to caregivers that stresses safe medication storage to prevent intentional and unintentional ingestion could drastically reduce harm in the pediatric population.

Objective: This study aims to provide parents/caregivers of children < 18 years old with improved understanding of safe storage practices for medications. Primary objectives are to evaluate subjects’ change in knowledge and behavior regarding safe medication storage and disposal through an educational survey. Secondary objectives will examine the association of demographics with pre-post educational changes in knowledge and behavior regarding safe medication storage.

Design/Methods: This is an IRB-approved prospective observational study, aiming to recruit 1800 subjects, in an urban academic pediatric emergency department. Surveys are administered to subjects of children < 18 years old seen as patients in the past year. An initial online survey is distributed to subjects who meet inclusion criteria. Consented subjects respond about current understanding of health hazards that improper medication storage poses for children. Educational content about pediatric medication storage safety and statistics is embedded in the primary survey. Secondary surveys, 4 weeks after initial surveys, identify whether participant responses demonstrate increased knowledge about medication safety in the home and/or result in changes to safer storage methods. Survey respondents are deidentified and data collection uses Checkbox software; study data will be securely stored in REDCap. Statistical analyses will be performed as appropriate for categorical and continuous variables. Data analysis will be finalized by February 2024.