Buckle Me Up!: A Digital Emergency Department Discharge Intervention for Child Car Safety

This study explores the utility of a tablet computer-based, individually-tailored technology called Computer Intervention Authoring Software (CIAS) in the Emergency Department for discharge education on proper child car restraint safety. The investigators hypothesize that tablet-based, individually-tailored discharge instructions are more effective than current standard, one-size-fits-all, printed discharge instructions. This is a randomized, controlled, non-blinded trial of a convenience sample of 200 children age 0-21 years old who present to the Hasbro Children's Hospital Emergency Department by car and have access to a smartphone and/or email. Patients will be randomized to receive either (a) a brief tablet-based questionnaire followed by standard, paper discharge instructions or (b) a brief tablet-based questionnaire followed by the intervention - CIAS, a computer program that allows families to interact with a tablet computer to receive educational information customized to the patient. Children 13 years old and above will answer questions themselves instead of having their parent/guardian answer for them. Both group will be offered information for the Lifespan Injury Prevention Center's Kohl's Car Seat Program. Both groups will complete a questionnaire on the usefulness of their discharge education. One week after discharge, participants in both groups will receive an automatic text message and/or email message with a link to a web-based survey that will assess: knowledge of appropriate car restraints and whether the parent/patient engaged in any behavioral changes regarding child car restraint. These variables will be compared between the control and intervention groups.

Inclusion criteria

• Children age 0-21 years presenting to the children's emergency department for any chief complaint whose parent/guardian owns or has access to a car that the child rides in (or for adolescents 16 years or older, have access to a car themselves).

Exclusion criteria

• No access to email or a smart phone
• Adolescents with significant developmental delay
• Adolescents who are critically injured
• No parent/guardian present at time of enrollment