Navigating child product safety: Perspectives from experts on international challenges and priorities in regulation and research

Catherine Niven; Kim A Vuong; Luke Nottage; James E Harrison; Holger Möller; Jesani Catchpoole; Rebecca Ivers; Kirsten Vallmuur

doi:10.1016/j.anzjph.2023.100103

Navigating child product safety: Perspectives from experts on international challenges and priorities in regulation and research

Aust N Z J Public Health. 2023 Dec;47(6):100103. doi: 10.1016/j.anzjph.2023.100103. Epub 2023 Nov 19.

Authors

Catherine Niven¹, Kim A Vuong², Luke Nottage³, James E Harrison⁴, Holger Möller⁵, Jesani Catchpoole⁶, Rebecca Ivers⁵, Kirsten Vallmuur⁶

Affiliations

¹ Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation (AusHSI), School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, 4059, Australia. Electronic address: nivenc@qut.edu.au.
² School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Queensland, Australia.
³ Sydney Law School, University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁴ Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute, Flinders University, South Australia, Australia.
⁵ School of Population Health, UNSW Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; The George Institute for Global Health, UNSW Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
⁶ Australian Centre for Health Services Innovation (AusHSI), School of Public Health and Social Work, Queensland University of Technology, Kelvin Grove, Queensland, 4059, Australia; Jamieson Trauma Institute, Metro North Health, Queensland, Australia.

PMID: 37980771
DOI: 10.1016/j.anzjph.2023.100103

Abstract

Objective: To elicit and summarise collective expert opinion on contemporary child product safety risks, challenges and priorities.

Methods: An online survey targeted international experts from a cross-section of product safety fields.

Results: Fifty-five experts participated, representing 1,137 years of product safety experience, from a broad range of fields including industry risk management, product assessment and testing, policy and regulation, research, paediatric medicine, advocacy and product liability. Participants identified the leading product safety hazards across all age brackets as falls, drowning and chemical hazards, with variance in specific age brackets, particularly the threat to breathing hazards for infants. The leading products of concern to experts were electrical connection/distribution products, primarily button batteries and lithium-ion batteries, infant furnishing products and household furniture. Product safety priorities and challenges were identified under five themes: regulatory, surveillance, industry, consumer and product-specific.

Conclusions: The gains in knowledge, insight and understanding from experts on contemporary child product safety risks and issues should inform policy and future research.

Implications for public health: There are significant consequences of unsafe consumer products on population health, and the results are timely as we face new product safety issues emerging from e-commerce, the digital transition and innovative product technologies.

Keywords: child safety; consumer policy; injury prevention; product safety.

MeSH terms

Child
Drowning*
Electricity
Humans
Infant
Surveys and Questionnaires