Ability of parents to recall the injuries of their young children.
OBJECTIVE
To estimate the ability of parents to recall the injuries of their children.


METHODS
Comparison of parent recall with computerized medical records.


METHODS
A health maintenance organization in Washington State during 2003.


METHODS
Parents of children younger than 6 years.


METHODS
The ratio of recalled injuries to injuries in computerized data.


RESULTS
Telephone interviews were completed with a parent of 1672 young children who had computerized medical data for at least one injury in the last year. Counting the three most recent treated injuries, the 1672 children had 1896 separate new injuries in the year before interview and parents recalled 1150 of these: recall ratio 0.61 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.58 to 0.63). The recall ratio decreased from 0.82 (95% CI 0.79 to 0.85) for injuries one day before interview to 0.37 (95% CI 0.32 to 0.40) at 365 days before interview. For 341 major injuries the recall ratio was 0.80 (95% CI 0.76 to 0.84), for 202 minor injuries treated in an emergency department or hospital it was 0.77 (95% CI 0.71 to 0.82), for 597 minor injuries treated in urgent care it was 0.70 (95% CI 0.65 to 0.73), and for 756 minor injuries treated in a clinic it was 0.43 (95% CI 0.39 to 0.47).


CONCLUSIONS
Recall decreased with time. Recall was best for major injuries, intermediate for minor injuries treated in a hospital, emergency department, or urgent care center, and worst for minor injuries treated in a clinic.
Cummings
P
P
Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center and the Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington State, USA. peterc@u.washington.edu
Rivara
F P
FP
Thompson
R S
RS
Reid
R J
RJ
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D010290:Parents / Q000523:psychology*; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013997:Time Factors; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*