Baby walkers have been a major cause of injuries in young children. The main purpose of this study is to identify the pattern of injuries associated with baby walker. The data were collected from May 13 to June 15, 1998 from 438 mothers who have used or are using baby walkers for their children aged average 6 month old(range 1-33 month). It was founded that 19.2%(84 infants) of these children had walker-related accidents. The types of injuries included 'falling down'(52.4%), 'tiping over'(21.4%), 'being crashed into the wall'(17.9%), and burns(1.2%). These injuries predominantly involved the head and neck region(88%). The majority of injuries were minor, and most injuries occurred at home with the mother present. The most common reason to use the baby walker was to keep the infant happy and occupied. Although many parents used walker to promote walking, there was no supportive evidence that walkers helped babies learn to walk sooner. In conclusion, injuries among infants who use walkers are minor, but common. Also, baby walkers may cause a fatal injury to some infants. Therefore, child safety warning label policies, anticipatory safety guidance and quality control of infant walkers are needed to prevent injuries associated with a infant walker.

PURPOSE: This study was to determine the current trend of nursing research as exploring both quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and to provide the explicit direction to improve the quality of published papers. METHODS: Total of 366 articles published between 2004 and 2006 was reviewed using the criteria of analysis. RESULTS: There was more number of quantitative studies than qualitative studies. More studies were conducted with subjects who had health problems, and studies that targeted women and elderly population have been significantly increased. In quantitative methodology, utilization of experimental and quasi-experimental designs has been increased, however descriptive study was dominant as yet. In qualitative methodology, studies using grounded theory and phenomenology were frequently published. It was noted that theoretical framework and rational for sample size were rarely presented in quantitative study. Philosophical position and the process of preparation for study, which guided the research, were not clearly described in qualitative study. CONCLUSION: The findings of this review suggest that published studies have been improved and diversified, however, detailed and clear evaluation tool that assesses study process and method should be developed as a way to further improve the quality of published papers.