Abstract
BackgroundUnintentional child poisoning represents a significant public health problem across the globe, placing a substantial burden on health services emergency departments. Around the world, every year, thousands of children die as a result of physical injuries, most of which involve children under 5 years old. Medicines are the main products involved in poisoning, and children under 5 years old are the most vulnerable age group. The objective of this study was to measure the prevalence of unsafe storage of medicines in households with a 4-year-old child.MethodsWe used data from the follow-up of 4-year-old in the 2004 Pelotas Birth Cohort Study in Brazil (N = 3799). “Unsafe storage” was considered present when medicines were stored unlocked and within reach of children (at a height below the eye level of the average adult). Independent variables included maternal and family socioeconomic and demographic characteristics and the child’s health care. All information was collected during household interviews with the mothers using a standardized questionnaire. The overall prevalence rate with a 95% confidence interval (95% CI) and the prevalence associated with various independent variables were determined.ResultsThe storage of medicines in unlocked areas was reported by 80.9% of the mothers, and, within reach of children for 26.5%. The overall prevalence rate of unsafe storage of medicines was 21.4% (20.1–22.7%). The main storage locations used were the kitchen (57.0%) and bedroom (53.3%).ConclusionsThe results indicate that medicines were unsafely stored in a 21.4% number of homes, which can contribute to the vulnerability of children to poisoning from medicines. To minimize this risk, education about the safe storage of medicines should be reinforced by health professionals.
Highlights
Unintentional child poisoning represents a significant public health problem across the globe, placing a substantial burden on health services emergency departments
A study conducted by Siqueira et al [29] on maternal depression showed that it is a common condition associated with several child health outcomes and that the median number of injuries among boys was higher for those whose mothers consistently presented symptoms of depression
This is the first cohort study in Brazil that has investigated the unsafe storage of medicines at home
Summary
Unintentional child poisoning represents a significant public health problem across the globe, placing a substantial burden on health services emergency departments. Every year, thousands of children die as a result of physical injuries, most of which involve children under 5 years old. Medicines are the main products involved in poisoning, and children under 5 years old are the most vulnerable age group. Unintentional child poisoning represents a significant public health problem globally, placing a substantial burden on health services emergency departments [1]. Thousands of children around the world die as a consequence of physical injuries, most of them involving children under 5 years old [2]. Childhood injury prevention is Medicines are the main type of products involved in accidental poisoning, and children under 5 years are the most vulnerable age group [7]. Strategies to prevent this type of injury include changes in the packaging, labels and instruction materials of medicines, as well as the dissemination of knowledge about the type of Santos et al BMC Pediatrics (2019) 19:235 medicines most frequently involved in poisoning, the circumstances in which poisonings occur and estimated underreporting rates
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