Injuries are the leading cause of death for children under age 19. Pre
vention efforts focus on eliminating hazards or changing individuals'
behavior. Few interventions address psychosocial factors that contribu
te to injuries. Home visiting programs target families' functioning an
d help parents overcome barriers that inhibit their readiness and abil
ity to address injury prevention. This study, a telephone interview wi
th 87 public health nurses and social workers, assessed home visitors'
preparedness to address childhood injury prevention, their practices
and factors influencing their ability to undertake injury prevention a
ctivities. Results showed that 41% of home visitors talked to parents
about injury prevention during visits. To identify hazards, most visit
ors (81%) assessed the home environment as they did other things; 51%
never used a home safety checklist. Most home visitors discussed hot w
ater temperature (82%), smoke detectors (76%), and firearms (50%). To
respond to hazards, most relied on verbal education. Other priorities
and time constraints were major barriers to injury prevention activiti
es. Home visitors' beliefs in the importance of injury prevention and
willingness to implement strategies suggest that home visiting can be
an effective delivery strategy for injury prevention. It is important
to consider how to include, in a systematic manner, injury prevention
in home visitor training.