Household poisoning exposure among children of Mexican-born mothers: an ethnographic study

Objective To explore reasons for high rates of unintentional poisoning amon g Latino children under 5 years old. Design Ethnographic interviews were ca rried our using a sample of mothers identified via door-to-door canvassing in an area with documented high injury rates among Latino children. Intervi ews included many open-ended and follow-up questions to elicit a detailed f amily history and emphasized observation of conditions and behaviors in the homes. Setting Low-income neighborhoods of Southern California. Subjects F ifty mothers born in Mexico with children under 5 years old. Results Childr en were exposed to potential poisoning agents in more than 80% of homes. Co ntributory factors related to culture included favorable attitudes toward i ron as a healthful substance; extensive use of products that lack child-res istant packaging, such as rubbing alcohol and medicines from Mexico; high p revalence of shared housing; limited familiarity with toxic household chemi cals not widely used in Mexico; and inability to read warning labels in Eng lish. Conclusion Current Poison Control Center outreach efforts should be e xpanded. Clinicians are uniquely positioned to advise patents about the saf e use and storage of toxic substances, including widely used products lacki ng child-resistant packaging. Medicines should be labeled in Spanish for th ose who do not know English.