Otaluka Onyinye N, Corrado Rachel, Brooks Daniel E, Nelson Deborah B
University of Arizona College of Public Health, Phoenix, AZ, United States.
Department of Public Health, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
Toxicol Rep. 2014 Dec 8;2:203-204. doi: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2014.12.001. eCollection 2015.
Poison control centers (PCCs) hold great potential for saving health care resources particularly by preventing unnecessary medical evaluations. We developed a survey to better identify the needs and experiences of our service community. We hope to use these data to improve PCC outreach education and overall use of our services.
A written questionnaire was developed in English and then translated into Spanish. Subjects agreeing to participate were then asked two verbal questions in English: are you at least 18 years of age? And; in what language would you like to complete the questionnaire; English or Spanish? All questionnaires completed by subjects ≥18 years of age were included. Questionnaires with missing responses, other than zip code, were included. Data collected include gender, age, zip code, primary language, ethnicity, education, health insurance status and experiences with the PCC. Subjects were not compensated for participation. Arizona zip codes were divided into "rural" or "urban" based on a census data website. Percentages and odds ratios were determined based on completed responses. Smaller subgroups, for some variables, were combined to increase sample sizes and improve statistical relevance.
Overall, women and subjects with children at home (regardless of ethnicity) were significantly more likely to have heard of the PCC although Blacks and Spanish-speakers were significantly less likely to have heard of the PCC. Similarly, respondents with children at home and those reporting a prior home poisoning (regardless of ethnicity) were significantly more likely to have called the PCC. Blacks were significantly less likely to have called the PCC. These findings were similar among people living in urban zip codes but not statistically significant among rural responders.
Based on a small survey, race and language spoken at home were variables identified as being associated with decreased awareness of poison centers. Focusing on these specific groups may assist in efforts to increase PCC penetrance, particularly among urban communities.
中毒控制中心（PCCs）在节省医疗资源方面具有巨大潜力，尤其是通过避免不必要的医学评估。我们开展了一项调查，以更好地了解我们服务社区的需求和经历。我们希望利用这些数据来改进PCC的外展教育以及我们服务的整体使用情况。
编写了一份英文书面问卷，然后翻译成西班牙语。同意参与的受试者随后会被问到两个英文口头问题：你至少18岁吗？以及：你希望用哪种语言完成问卷，英语还是西班牙语？所有18岁及以上受试者填写的问卷均被纳入。除邮政编码外，有缺失回答的问卷也被纳入。收集的数据包括性别、年龄、邮政编码、主要语言、种族/民族、教育程度、医疗保险状况以及与PCC的接触经历。受试者参与调查未获报酬。根据一个人口普查数据网站，亚利桑那州的邮政编码被分为“农村”或“城市”。基于完整回答确定百分比和比值比。对于某些变量，将较小的亚组合并以增加样本量并提高统计相关性。
总体而言，女性以及家中有孩子的受试者（无论种族/民族）听说过PCC的可能性显著更高，尽管黑人和说西班牙语的人听说过PCC的可能性显著更低。同样，家中有孩子的受访者以及报告曾发生过家庭中毒的受访者（无论种族/民族）拨打PCC电话的可能性显著更高。黑人拨打PCC电话的可能性显著更低。这些发现在居住于城市邮政编码地区的人群中相似，但在农村受访者中无统计学意义。
基于一项小型调查，种族和在家中使用的语言是被确定与对中毒控制中心的知晓度降低相关的变量。关注这些特定群体可能有助于提高PCC的普及率，尤其是在城市社区。
