After the injury: initial evaluation of a web-based intervention for parents of injured children

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to survey parent knowledge of child injury reactions (including post-traumatic stress symptoms) and to evaluate parent satisfaction and learning outcomes following a video- or web-based intervention. Fifty parents of children ages 6-17 years who were injured within the past 2 months were recruited from emergency and inpatient settings. A repeated-measures experimental design was employed in which participants were assigned to either a web-based or video intervention. Parent knowledge was assessed pre- and post-intervention. Learning outcomes and satisfaction were evaluated post-intervention. Parents showed high levels (∼70% accuracy) of knowledge about potential psychological injury reactions at baseline and post-intervention. In addition, post-intervention parents were able to generate new positive strategies to help their child recover and became more specific about types of reactions to monitor (e.g. avoidance). Participants reported high levels of satisfaction with both web and video interventions. While parents possess high levels of basic knowledge about child recovery from injury, the Web site and video tools provided concrete guidance that was useful in enhancing parent understanding of specific traumatic stress reactions to monitor in children post-injury.