23. Cultural Diversity and Child Passenger Safety

Abstract

Death due to a motor vehicle crash (MVC) is the number one cause of death in Hispanic and African-American populations to ages 34 and 14, respectively. A 300-bed level I trauma center in Kansas City is the safety net hospital for the urban core and is committed to decreasing injury and death. This medical center instituted an educational program to increase knowledge of child passenger and home safety in several culturally diverse populations of pregnant women. During Child Passenger Safety Week a baby shower was held to educate parents on child passenger safety (CPS) and home safety. This concept was chosen to encourage participation from pregnant women. The participants included 74 pregnant patients at the medical center's obstetrical/gynecological clinic. Six language-specific programs were held in English (39 attendees), Spanish (14), Somali (6), French (3), Arabic (11), and Chinese (1). Interpreters were present to provide oral translation. The participants completed a pretest, presented in their native language, to assess baseline knowledge of CPS and home safety. A 20-item, true/false test was designed and administered as written (English, Spanish, and French) or orally (Somali, Arabic, and Chinese) using translators. Next, the injury prevention coordinator gave a child passenger safety PowerPoint educational presentation followed by a demonstration of placing an infant in a car seat. Participants repeated the test (same questions, different order) to assess knowledge gained and then completed a return demonstration of placing an infant in a car seat. During the past 3 years, this program reached more than 160 women. Evaluation of the pretest and posttest data to assess knowledge improvement is in progress. In evaluating the program, a few cultural issues were identified that might affect the success of the program. These issues included literacy, family presence (husbands of Arabic-speaking women wanted to take the test for their wives), and (possibly) concept of time. Many participants did not view 'being on time' as important, so flexibility in scheduling was critical. Understanding that death and injury are preventable and can be reduced by education that is language and cultural specific, consideration is needed when designing and teaching injury prevention education.