A quality improvement program in pediatric practices to increase tailored injury prevention counseling and assess self-reported changes made by families

BACKGROUND: Many pediatric providers struggle to screen families for the majority of age-appropriate injury risks and educate them when appropriate. Standardized tools have helped physicians provide effective, more purposeful counseling. In this study, pediatricians utilized a standardized, injury prevention screening tool to increase targeted discussions and families were re-screened at subsequent visits to determine changes in their behavior. METHODS: Pediatric practices, recruited from the Ohio Chapter, American Academy of Pediatrics database, self-selected to participate in a quality improvement program. Two screening tools, for children birth-4 month and 6–12 month, with corresponding talking points, were to be implemented into every well child visit. During the 7-month collaborative, screening results and pediatrician counseling for reported unsafe behaviors were calculated. Patients who completed a screening tool at subsequent visits were followed up at a later visit to determine self-reported behavior changes. We examined statistically significant differences in frequencies using the X(2) test. Providers received maintenance of certification IV credit for participation. RESULTS: Seven practices (39 providers) participated. By the second month, participating providers discussed 75% of all inappropriate responses for birth-4 month screenings and 87% for 6–12 months. Of the 386 families who received specific counseling and had a follow-up visit, 65% (n = 94/144) of birth-4 month and 65% (n = 59/91) of 6–12 month families made at least one behavior change. The X(2) test showed that families who received counseling versus those that did not were significantly more likely to change inappropriate behaviors (p < 0.05). Overall, of all the risks identified, 45% (136) of birth-4 month and 42% (91) of 6–12 month behaviors reportedly changed after a practitioner addressed the topic area. CONCLUSIONS: Participation in a quality improvement program within pediatric offices can increase screening for injury risks and encourage tailored injury prevention discussions during an office encounter. As a result, significantly more families reported to practice safer behaviors at later visits.