Does a child’s injury affect how you manage safety at home? BCIRPU Research Associate Dr. Michelle Bauer is leading a study looking at health care practitioners’ exposure to children’s injuries and death, and how it shapes how they view at-home safety with their own children. Information is collected through interviews with Canadian doctors and nurses in emergency care roles.

Early findings suggest how exposure to family trauma in emergency departments, and child injuries and death, can affect how these parents supervise their children; reinforce education around safety equipment, such as lifejackets and bike helmets; and limit high-risk situations.

Parents are concerned about play near open windows, water, and firearms, and on motorized vehicles, such as ATVs. Researchers have also observed that witnessing family grief due to child injury or death affects the mental well-being of health care practitioners, drawing attention to the need for mental health supports.

This study is ongoing and supported through BCCHR’s Program and Institutes Looking to Launch Academic Researchers (PILLAR) program. Drs. Ian Pike and Meghan Gilley are co-investigators.

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