title: A Qualitative Exploration of Less Acculturated Mexican Mothers' Safety Perceptions of Herbs, Medicines, and Cleaners in the Home.
abstract: Childhood poisoning is a leading public health concern in our society. The death rate from unintentional poisonings among children has increased by 80% from 2000 to 2009. Immigrant children are also at-risk. A qualitative study, consisting of a pile sort, was conducted among immigrant Mexican mothers to determine their safety perceptions of commonly used medicines, herbs, and cleaners. Participants (N = 35) were selected for semi-structured interviews from a pediatric primary care clinic in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Some mothers over-estimated their children's ability to discern the dangers of substances, relied heavily on sensory skills of children, and perceived a medicine as safe after successful use in the past. Other mothers were more cognizant of allergic reactions, ingestion, and the need to store substances carefully. Brief interventions that incorporate culturally-appropriate safety messages are needed to assist Mexican mothers in creating a safe home environment.
authors: Department of Health Studies, Texas Woman's University, P.O. Box 425499, Denton, TX, 76204, USA. kcrosslin@twu.edu.
authors: Katie
authors: K
authors: Crosslin
authors: Children's Health, 1935 Medical District Drive, Dallas, TX, 75235, USA.
authors: Ray
authors: R
authors: Tsai
authors: Department of Health Studies, Texas Woman's University, P.O. Box 425499, Denton, TX, 76204, USA.
authors: Marilyn
authors: M
authors: Massey-Stokes
mesh_terms: D000069:Acculturation; D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health / Q000208:ethnology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D054242:Emigrants and Immigrants / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006795:Household Products / Q000506:poisoning*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D017058:Mexican Americans / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D009034:Mother-Child Relations / Q000208:ethnology*; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012449:Safety; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations
keywords: Childhood poisoning; Home safety; Mexicans; Pile sorting; Qualitative; Semi-structured interviews