Date of Graduation

Fall 12-2015

Document Access

Project/Capstone - Global access

Degree Name

Master of Public Health (MPH)

College/School

School of Nursing and Health Professions

First Advisor

Courtney Keeler

Second Advisor

Dru Bhattacharya

Abstract

Parenting practices play an important role in child safety and injury prevention, and inadequate supervision poses a significant threat to child health. Intervention programs targeting injury beliefs have been shown to positively reduce risky play in children though these efforts vary with age and context. There is a need to further evaluate the influence of social context, environmental characteristics, and parenting practices on supervision behavior. Research has classified supervision characteristics based on dimensions of attention (level of interaction with the child and visual/auditory attentiveness), proximity (physical touch and distance to a child), and continuity (frequency/timing of supervision). Prior studies suggest that appropriate levels of supervision by using balance of these dimensions, can as a protective factor for child injury. An adult’s decision to utilize specific supervision strategies depends on their risk perception of child injury. This paper examines the role of child-injury risk perceptions on adult supervisory behavior in a playground setting. Observations of supervision behaviors were conducted at Shane’s Inspiration Griffith Park of Los Angeles. Of those supervising children, the prevalence of reported injury at playgrounds among adults using their phones was 3.7 times than of those not using their phones. Future research directions in the context of adult injury prevention behaviors are discussed.

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