The Effect of Primary Care Interventions on Childrenʹs Media Viewing Habits and Exposure to Violence

AbstractObjective ermine if brief primary care interventions can affect childrenʹs media viewing habits and exposure to violence. s h- and Spanish-speaking parents of 2- to 12-year-old children presenting to a pediatric primary care clinic participated in a randomized controlled trial. There were 2 intervention groups; one group viewed 5 minutes from the Play Nicely program and another received a handout, "Pulling the Plug on TV Violence." There were 2 control groups; the primary control group received standard primary care, and the alternative control group viewed a program about obesity prevention. The outcome measure was parental report of changes in media viewing habits and changes in exposure to violence. s l of 312 of 443 parents who were randomized completed a 2-week follow-up survey. Compared with the primary control group, parents in the video intervention group were more likely to report a change in their childrenʹs media viewing habits (odds ratio [OR] 3.29; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.66–6.51) and a change in their childrenʹs exposure to violence (OR 4.26; 95% CI 1.95–9.27). Compared with the primary control group, parents in the handout group were more likely to report a change in their childrenʹs media viewing habits (OR 4.35; 95% CI 2.20–8.60) and a change in their childrenʹs exposure to violence (OR 3.35; 95% CI 1.52–7.35). sions primary care interventions can affect childrenʹs media viewing habits and childrenʹs exposure to violence. These results have implications for how to improve primary care services related to decreasing childrenʹs media exposure and violence prevention.