Abstract
This paper addresses the public health issue of toy product recalls in the United States, an under-addressed topic in scholarly literature, yet highly relevant to the prevention of pediatric injuries. Toy-related injuries led to 274,000 emergency room visits and seven fatalities in 2016 in the United States, and toy-related injury rates have remained stable over the last five years despite declining incidences of recalls. While dangerous toys not being recalled and the misuse of “safe” products are possible contributing factors, consumer non-response to recall notices also contributes to unintentional child injury from dangerous toys. We discuss the process of recalling toys, and the role of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission in that process. We also review potential factors behind significant consumer non-response to recall notifications, citing economic and psychological theories as explanations for the actions of multiple stakeholders in the recall process. We close by proposing reforms at the regulatory, consumer, and retailer levels that might boost compliance with recall notifications and ultimately reduce injury morbidity and mortality.
Highlights
IntroductionToys and play greatly impact children’s cognitive, social and intellectual development [1,2]
Toys and play greatly impact children’s cognitive, social and intellectual development [1,2].For example, construction blocks, board games, and puzzles foster children’s spatial ability, which is crucial for success in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields [3]
We propose that consumers have insufficient awareness of and response to toy we propose that consumers have insufficient awareness of and response to toy recalls recalls and that this contributes to toy-related injury rates in the U.S In discussing this public health and that this contributes to toy-related injury rates in the U.S In discussing this public health risk, we risk, we briefly overview the regulatory agency, the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission briefly overview the regulatory agency, the U.S Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), review (CPSC), review current toy safety regulations in the U.S, and discuss toy recalls and impediments to current toy safety regulations in the U.S, and discuss toy recalls and impediments to the recall process
Summary
Toys and play greatly impact children’s cognitive, social and intellectual development [1,2]. Playing with certain toys can result in serious injury. Database concerning toy-related emergency department visits from 2012 through 2016 in the United. In 2016, there were 274,000 emergency department visits in the U.S related to toys, of which. 191,000 (70%) were for children under 15 years of age [5]. The highest rate of injury was among the youngest children, ages 0–4 years, but substantial numbers of injuries occur throughout child development. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 540; doi:10.3390/ijerph15030540 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, Toy-Related Emergency Department Visits for Children 0-14 Years by Age Group, 2012-2016
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