Elsevier

Ambulatory Pediatrics

Volume 4, Issue 4, July–August 2004, Pages 344-347
Ambulatory Pediatrics

A Videotape to Improve Parental Knowledge of Lead Poisoning

https://doi.org/10.1367/A03-032R.1Get rights and content

Background.—Disadvantaged children are at high risk for lead poisoning. Their parents often have poor knowledge of lead poisoning and do not know how to prevent lead poisoning in their child.

Objective.—To assess an educational videotape's impact on parental knowledge and behavior about lead poisoning.

Design.—Prospective study by self-administered parental survey immediately before (pretest) and after (posttest 1) well visits and mailed 2–4 weeks later (posttest 2). The intervention group watched the videotape immediately after the pretest.

Setting.—Pediatric clinic in tertiary care hospital.

Participants.—Consecutive sample of parents of 6-month-old to 6-year-old children (n = 146).

Main Outcome Measures.—Survey included demographic questions, the shortened Chicago Lead Knowledge Test (sCLKT), and questions about parental behaviors.

Results.—Mean pretest scores were 5.8 (SD, 2.8) and 5.3 (SD, 2.2), posttest 1 scores were 6.0 (SD, 2.6) and 10.6 (SD, 2.1), and posttest 2 scores were 6.1 (SD, 2.8) and 9.5 (SD, 2.8) of 14 in the control and intervention groups, respectively. Control and intervention group posttest 1 and posttest 2 score differences were statistically significant (P < .05). Intervention group parents reported more frequent washing of their child's hands (P < .05) and windows, walls, or floors at study completion (P < .05).

Conclusions.—The videotape significantly increased sCLKT scores and behaviors that may decrease children's risk of developing lead poisoning. Improvement persisted throughout the study period.

Section snippets

METHODS

This was a prospective clinical trial of the effects of a videotape on parental knowledge of lead poisoning. Parents were recruited from a large ambulatory pediatric clinic at a tertiary care hospital in urban Philadelphia. Parents whose children were 6 months to 6 years of age and were scheduled for well-child visits were eligible for the study. Parents had to be able to read English or Spanish and consent to study participation. Parents could only enroll one time in the study.

Our assessment

RESULTS

There were 510 eligible parents who presented during the study period whose children were between the ages of 6 months and 6 years during the 6-week enrollment period. A convenience sample of 157 parents was approached about participating in the study (31% of eligible parents). Eleven parents refused to participate in the study because they believed that the study would take too long (5), already knew enough about lead poisoning (3), were “too tired,” (1), were not interested (1), or could not

DISCUSSION

The Pennsylvania Department of Health lead poisoning prevention videotape improved parental knowledge, as measured on the sCLKT. We found a statistically significant improvement in test score in the group that watched the lead poisoning prevention videotape (+4.2 of 14 items). These improvements in test score were retained throughout the study period and were associated with an increase in self-reported behaviors, such as hand washing and house cleaning, that may help prevent lead poisoning.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We would like to acknowledge Edward Gracely, PhD, for his assistance with the statistical analysis of this manuscript and the OMERAD Faculty Development Fellowship Program at Michigan State University for their guidance in developing this project.

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