Getting child injury research evidence into legislation and practice: how long does it take?

Objectives: To identify the time lag from publication of seminal research that provided evidence that an intervention could reduce a specific child injury and for legislation to be enacted aimed at directly preventing the injury in Australia. Study design: Case studies and literature and document analysis. Methods: Nine injury prevention measures associated with common childhood injuries (i.e. burns, drowning, poisoning, and road trauma) were considered. Seminal research that provided the evidence for the injury prevention intervention(s) and a document analysis of legislation in Australia aimed at eliminating or reducing the risk of injury were identified. Results: It took an average of 19 years from the publication of seminal research to enactment of the nine injury prevention interventions of interest. Interventions related to road trauma had the lowest average time lag from seminal research to enactment (10 years). Product-related interventions, such as child-resistant packaging for medication and button batteries, had the longest time lag, averaging 24 years. The average time lag for building-related interventions (e.g., pool fencing) differed based on implementation in newly constructed (18 years) or existing buildings (23 years). Conclusions: There is a demonstrable knowledge translation gap to get injury prevention research into legislative policy and practice. More timely translation of injury prevention research evidence into practice is needed to aid in childhood injury prevention efforts.