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Educational intervention decreased ED visits for respiratory illness
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Pediatric emergency visits and adverse care practices were significantly decreased when an educational intervention regarding upper respiratory infections was implemented, according to recent study findings published in Pediatrics.
Melissa S. Stockwell, MD, MPH, assistant professor of Population and Family Health at Columbia’s Mailman School of Public Health and Pediatrics at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, and colleagues evaluated families to determine the effectiveness of an educational intervention to decrease pediatric ED visits and adverse care practices for upper respiratory infections.
Melissa S. Stockwell
The study involved 154 families, primarily Latino and Spanish speaking, and 197 children aged younger than 4 years. Four Early Head Start sites were randomized for families to receive either three 1.5-hour educational modules (intervention group; n=76) or standard educational parent health curriculum (n=78).
Eight percent of the intervention group reported visiting the pediatric ED when the child was ill compared with 15.7% of the group that received the standard curriculum. Intervention families (12.2%) were also less likely to use inappropriate over-the-counter medications during the intervention period compared with 31.1% of the standard curriculum group.
“Our study illustrates the potential strength of using Early Head Start for a health education intervention,” Stockwell said in a press release. “While some other educational interventions have been successful in increasing knowledge and care practices for upper respiratory illness, they were conducted predominately in non-minority populations, with higher health literacy levels. Many interventions also took place in primary care offices or pharmacies.”
Disclosure: The study was funded in part by the NIH and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
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