Effectiveness of nurse counselling in discouraging the use of the infant walkers

Asia Pac J Public Health. 2004;16(2):104-8. doi: 10.1177/101053950401600205.

Abstract

Infant walkers are widely used by caregivers in Singapore despite being recognized as a household hazard. The study determined the effectiveness of nurse counselling in dissuading caregivers from using the walker. Caregivers of children 4 months of age were recruited and divided into the intervention group (nurse's advice and illustrated pamphlets), a conventional group (questionnaire alone) and a control group (without any intervention in separate polyclinic). The percentage of the caregivers, who used the walkers in each group when their child was 9 months old, was taken as a surrogate indicator of effectiveness of nurse's intervention. The study analyzed 708 caregivers. Fewer caregivers (62.7% intervention vs. 80.4% questionnaire alone vs. 83.0% control) used the walker after nurse's advice with illustrated pamphlets. 8% of the users reported walker-related injuries (n=43). Nurses' counselling could be a simple yet effective method to discourage the use of walkers.

MeSH terms

  • Accident Prevention / methods
  • Caregivers / education*
  • Cohort Studies
  • Community Health Nursing / methods
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Infant Equipment / adverse effects*
  • Infant Equipment / statistics & numerical data*
  • Nurses*
  • Pamphlets
  • Singapore
  • Wounds and Injuries / etiology*
  • Wounds and Injuries / prevention & control