Evaluation of the effect of a public educator on calls and poisonings reported to a regional poison center.
There are few studies that use measurable outcomes to gauge the effect of a public educator on the mission of the poison center. Human exposures, penetrance and total call volume from 2 regional poison centers for 7y (1996-2002) were evaluated. In poison center 1 a dedicated educator was employed for the final 4y of data (1999-2002). Poison center 2 data acted as a control with no dedicated educator for the 7-y period. The 2 centers were comparable in a number of ways: similar demographic rural and urban populations; similar geographic and economic region; and served the entire state. Human exposures in poison center 1 increased 4.3 % after employment of a dedicated educator, while exposure continued to decline at center 2 (1.7%). A steep decline in penetrance in poison center 1 was reversed after employment of a dedicated educator. Human exposures and penetrance for poison center 2 continued to decline during the study years. Total calls to center 1 increased 13.8% while total calls to center 2 remained flat (0.2%). This is the first study to use measurable outcomes to evaluate the impact of a public educator on the mission of a poison center. The addition of a public educator was associated with a positive impact on human exposures and penetrance reported to a regional poison center.
Spiller
Henry A
HA
Kentucky Regional Poison Center, PO Box 35070, Louisville, Kentucky 40232-5070, USA.
Mowry
James B
JB
D015277:Hotlines / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007196:Indiana / Q000453:epidemiology; D007629:Kentucky / Q000453:epidemiology; D008499:Medical Records; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011039:Poison Control Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011041:Poisoning / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D012189:Retrospective Studies