Study: AAP TIPP Program Specially Designed to Reduce Childhood Injuries Found to Be Effective in Young Children

Forty years after the inception of an injury prevention program developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), recent data underscores its effectiveness. The study “The Injury Prevention Program to Reduce Early Childhood Injuries: A Cluster Randomized Trial,” which is in the May 2024 edition of Pediatrics (published online April 1), focused on children in the first two years of life. The randomized trial was made up of 781 predominantly low-income, Hispanic and non-Hispanic Black families. Those who were enrolled in sites with the injury prevention program had significantly reduced parent-reported injuries compared to sites using a different, non-injury-related intervention. The AAP designed The Injury Prevention Program (TIPP) in 1983 to help pediatricians prevent unintentional injuries. These injuries in young children include cuts, burns, falls, choking, unintentional ingestions, drownings, and motor vehicle crashes. Despite the widespread availability of the AAP prevention program and its absolute risk reduction of 0.16, the program likely does not have the impact it could because it is under-utilized. The estimated risk of reporting injuries averaged across all ages from 4 months to 24 months was 30% in the control group and only 14% in the injury prevention group. Researchers in other studies have found that few pediatric providers routinely provide injury prevention counseling during child well visits. The researchers of this study conclude while more research is needed to determine if the program prevents serious injuries, the study offers further evidence that a primary care-based intervention can be effective in reducing injuries, which are a common childhood morbidity.  

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The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults.