Community-based Injury Prevention Program Research Articles

Analysis of the effect of a community based injury prevention program using synthetic control method

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to examine how residents’ injury mortality varies depending on the implementation of a community-based injury prevention program with an international safe community model and to analyze the program’s effectiveness. Methods: The study analyzed descriptive statistics and annual variation to understand the targeted regions’ characteristics and applied the synthetic control method (SCM) to determine whether significant changes occurred before and after the region’s designation as International Safe Community. Results: The age-adjusted injury death rate by years and regions fluctuated but often tended to increase for intentional injury, whereas it continually decreased for unintentional injury. Additionally, although the mortality in designated regions tended to be similar to that of the control group before the designation as International Safe Community, the mortality in the former was substantially lower than after the designation. Conclusion: At the community level, It is necessary to continuously plan a project including comprehensive strategies for injury prevention, which match regional characteristics, and to promote a targeted and customized program based on injury mechanisms.

Indictor 4, Promoting evidence informed community safety promotion

Background: Designing a safety promotion programs that have significant impact on the wellbeing of your community is about finding creative solutions for the tension between visionary dreams and practical, evidence-informed solutions: • Nothing will be achieved unless you have the vision to imagine a better reality for ourselves, our family, our friends and our community • Nothing can be achieved unless you have the pragmatism and commitment to seek out achievable evidence informed effective solutions1. To achieve population level reductions in injury you need to GET REAL! Purpose: The ISCCC commissioned a guideline to assist communities addressing Indicator 4 - Programs that are based on available evidence - in their designation application. Methods: Review of the international literature on translation of research into practice Results: Millions of lives could be saved if we just applied what is already known. This is the business of Indicator 4. Effective public health programs are the logical consequence of sound evidence. To implement an effective community-based safety promotion and injury prevention program three types of experts are required 1. Researchers (experts in what to do) 2. Politicians, administrators and practitioners (experts in how to do it) 3. Members of the target community (experts in what will work for them) four types of knowledge / evidence are required: 1. Evidence from a community’s own research and surveillance systems (Indicator 6) 2. Evidence about common types of injury and their causes 3. Evidence-based practice – evidence about what has been shown to work under research conditions 4. Practice based evidence – evidence about what has been shown to work in real world conditions. Conclusion: Accessing, interpreting and applying sound evidence is critical to the success of a safe community program.

A public health approach to mobilizing community partners for injury prevention: A scoping review.

ObjectivesReducing injuries in adults requires work with diverse stakeholders across many sectors and at multiple levels. At the local level, public health professionals need to effectively bring together, facilitate, and support community partners to initiate evidence-based efforts. However, there has been no formal review of the literature to inform how these professionals can best create action among community partners to address injuries in adults. Thus, this scoping review aims to identify theories, models or frameworks that are applicable to a community-based approach to injury prevention.MethodsSearches of scientific and less formal literature identified 13,756 relevant items published in the English language between 2000 and 2016 in North America, Europe and Australia. After screening and review, 10 publications were included that (1) identified a theory, framework or model related to mobilizing partners; and (2) referred to community-based adult injury preventionResultsFindings show that use of theories, frameworks and models in community-based injury prevention programs is rare and often undocumented. One theory and various conceptual models and frameworks exist for mobilizing partners to jointly prevent injuries; however, there are few evaluations of the processes to create community action.ConclusionsSuccessful community-based injury prevention must build on what is already understood about creating partnership action. Evaluating local public health professional injury prevention practice based on available theories, models and frameworks will identify successes and challenges to inform process improvements. We propose a logic model to more specifically guide and evaluate how public health can work locally with community partners.

Unintentional injury mortality among indigenous communities of Taiwan: trends from 2002 to 2013 and evaluation of a community-based intervention

IntroductionIndigenous communities in Taiwan shoulder a disproportionate burden of unintentional injury fatalities. We compare unintentional injury mortality rate trends among Taiwan’s indigenous communities and the general population from 2002 to...

Searching for sustainability within public health policy: insights from an injury prevention perspective

Sustaining public health programmes in the long-term is key to ensuring full manifestation of their intended benefits. Although an increasing interest in sustainability is apparent within the global literature, empirical studies from within the European setting are few. The factors that influence sustainability are generally conceptualized at three levels: programme level, the immediate context and the wider environment. To-date attention has focused primarily on the former two. Using a community-based child injury prevention programme in England as an exemplar, this paper explores the concept of sustainability within the wider policy environment, and considers the impact of this on local programmes. A content review of global and UK national public health policies (1981-2014) relevant to child safety was undertaken. Interviews were held with senior representatives of global and UK agencies involved in developing child safety policy. Forty-nine policies were reviewed. The term 'sustain', or its derivatives, featured in 36 (73%) of these. Its' use however, related primarily to conservation of resources rather than continued programme operation. Potential mechanisms for supporting programme sustainability featured within some documents; however, the approach to sustainability was inconsistent between policies and over time. Policy stakeholders identified programme sustainability as relevant to their core business, but its' conceptualization varied according to individual interpretation. Programme sustainability is poorly addressed within global and UK-based public health policy. Strengthening a national and international policy focus on sustainability and incorporating sustainability into public health planning frameworks may create a more supportive environment for local programmes.

Effect of a community-based pedestrian injury prevention program on driver yielding behavior at marked crosswalks

BackgroundFew studies have comprehensively evaluated the effectiveness of multi-faceted interventions intended to improve pedestrian safety. “Watch for Me NC” is a multi-faceted, community-based pedestrian safety program that includes widespread media and public engagement in combination with enhanced law enforcement activities (i.e., police outreach and targeted pedestrian safety operations conducted at marked crosswalks) and low-cost engineering improvements at selected crossings. The purpose of this study was to estimate the effect of the law enforcement and engineering improvement components of the program on motor vehicle driver behavior, specifically in terms of increased driver yielding to pedestrians in marked crosswalks. MethodsThe study used a pre-post design with a control group, comparing crossing locations receiving enforcement and low-cost engineering treatments (enhanced locations) with locations that did not (standard locations) to examine changes in driver yielding over a 6-month period from 2013 to 2014. A total of 24,941 drivers were observed in 11,817 attempted crossing events at 16 crosswalks in five municipalities that were participating in the program. Observations of real pedestrians attempting to use the crosswalks (“naturalistic” crossing) were supplemented by observations of trained research staff attempting the same crossings following an established protocol (“staged” crossings). Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to model driver yielding rates, accounting for repeated observations at the crossing locations and controlling other factors that affect driver behavior in yielding to pedestrians in marked crosswalks. ResultsAt crossings that did not receive enhancements (targeted police operations or low-cost engineering improvements), driver yielding rates did not change from before to after the Watch for Me NC program. However, yielding rates improved significantly (between 4 and 7 percentage points on average) at the enhanced locations. This was true for both naturalistic and staged crossings. ConclusionsThis study provides evidence that enhanced enforcement and low-cost engineering improvements, as a part of a broader program involving community-based outreach, can increase driver yielding to pedestrians in marked crosswalks. These data are important for the staff and decision-makers involved in pedestrian safety programs to gain a better understanding of the different engineering and behavioral mechanisms that could be used to improve driver yielding rates.

Effect of a community-based pedestrian injury prevention program on driver yielding behavior at marked crosswalks

Effect of a community-based pedestrian injury prevention program on driver yielding behavior at marked crosswalks

0052 Motorcycle safety program for tribal violent areas of pakistan

<h3>Statement of purpose</h3> Motorcycles are a dominant mode of transport in Pakistan. The number of registered motorcycles in Pakistan is 5321066, about 59% of vehicular population. The ratio of motorcycle crashes is very high. Enforcement and education regarding motorcycle helmet, knee safety guards and back view mirrors can be effective intervention to mitigate motorcycle related road crashes and injuries. However, in tribal areas of Pakistan people are antipolice and resilient to road safety enforcement and prosecution. Even in some instances Police officers were assaulted. Thus; Police has failed to implement motorcycle safety enforcement in these areas. <h3>Methods/Approach</h3> The program is based upon community participation involving main instruments of injury preventions i.e. education and training, community policing, advocacy, and media campaign. <h3>Results</h3> The program will be helpful in reducing violent behaviour of the tribal community, thereby; improvement in helmet compliance and obedience of traffic safety regulation. Compliance of traffic safety regulation and helmet wearing rate will result in reduced road traffic crashes involving motorcyclists. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Community based injury prevention program are helpful in improving traffic safety regulations. Community based Participatory approach will modify violent behaviour of the tribal community who is reluctant to follow traffic safety regulations. <h3>Significance and contribution to the field</h3> Road Safety will become part of culture and community will take it as an acceptable norm. Police officer will be safe and secured and will have confidence in enforcing road traffic laws on road. There will be reduction in road traffic crashes and injuries involving motorcyclists.

Application and Developmental Strategies for Community-Based Injury Prevention Programs of the International Safe Communities Movement in Korea.

Safety of humans is an important factor that affects health overall, and injuries are one of the major public-health problems in the world. The purposes of this study were to describe the International safe Community movement which contributes to the injury prevention and safety promotion all over the world, and to identify out the application and developmental strategies for Korea. A review was done of previous research, reviews, and reports on the history, concepts, basic principles, and recommendations for actions of the Safe Community. For this study, the application strategies of the International Safe Community movement in Korea were examined to deduce the strengths of the safe Community program. Community-based injury prevention work according to the International Safe Community model is a successful and cost-effective way of reducing injuries in the community. Through the International Safe Community program, communities are able to realize a healthy community and achieve improved quality of lives for the people, which is the ultimate objective of the Safe Community model. In addition, it will contribute to the economic vitalization and gain through energy and enhancement of productivity of people.

A systematic review on the effectiveness of school and community-based injury prevention programmes on risk behaviour and injury risk in 8–12 year old children

To review existing literature on the effectiveness of community-based and school-based physical activity related injury prevention programmes implemented to increase safety behaviour and decrease injury risk in 8-12 year old children, considering the methodological quality of the studies. A systematic review with quality assessment. A systematic search was performed using the CINAHL, Cochrane, EMBASE, PubMed and Sportdiscus databases. Inclusion criteria included the following: children aged 8-12 years; school- or community-based injury prevention programmes; an outcome defined as number of injuries, injury incidence or safety behaviour; published in an English language journal. Methodological quality was assessed for all included studies. The search yielded 5377 records, of which 11 were included in the review; four studies were considered as being of high quality. The focus of studies that were included was on the use of safety devices (8), pedestrian safety (2) and physical activity-related injury prevention (1). For safety device use, short term effects of school- and community-based interventions are promising for 8-12 year olds. Results regarding sustainability of the effect are inconsistent. A mediating effect on the distribution of safety devices was observed. Both financial and non-financial barriers seemed to prevent participants from purchasing a safety device. The short term effects for school- and community-based interventions using safety devices for 8-12 year olds are promising. More high quality research is, however warranted, preferably shifting focus from safety behaviour change to actual physical activity injury reduction.

Childhood injury prevention through community-based participatory research: a multidimensional approach in the love and safety Omura study in Nagasaki, Japan

BackgroundIn Japan the leading cause of death of 1–19 years is unintentional injuries. However, people's awareness of the issue and its preventability remain low.PurposeTo implement a community-based injury prevention programme...

The Harstad injury prevention study: prevention of burns in children evaluated after over two decades of community-based intervention in Norway

ObjectiveTo report the long-term effectiveness of a community-based burn prevention program for children under the age of 5. The outcome is reported in terms of changes in burn injury rates/severity...

Injury surveillance: unrealistic expectations of safe communities

Designation as a World Health Organization (WHO) Safe Community (SC) is based on local capacity to meet six criteria. Criterion 4 states that communities must have: “Programmes that document the...

Safe communities for children: Insight from a pilot program for preventing unintentional injuries

This study presents insights in safety promotion of community-based intervention programs, in preventing unintentional injury among children. We modeled and used an evaluation tool to estimate the effectiveness of a community-based injury prevention program. The intervention program consisted of a five-year multidisciplinary, multi-strategic childhood safety promotion and injury prevention protocol. The purpose of the program was to set up safety awareness in ten low-income communities in Israel. This study describes the process, impact and outcome of the intervention program and includes the difficulties faced during the evaluation process, documenting the insights gained from this pilot program. The findings suggest that evaluating the program was a positive and important undertaking. Evaluating the success of the outcome in the earlier program, however, did not confirm its effectiveness. It appears there were hindrances to the progress and implementation of the program. This study gave insights into these obstacles and how we should correct them.

Readiness for Community-based Bicycle Helmet Use Programs

Understanding community context is as important to develop effective community-based injury prevention programs as assessing attitudes and behaviors among individuals. Readiness of a community toward community efforts to promote bicycle helmet use and of individuals to use bicycle helmets were examined in a northern Colorado town in the United States, using a semi-qualitative approach. Community readiness and individual readiness to prevent injuries through use of bicycle helmets differed across groups. The findings provide a better understanding of interactions between community perceptions and individual attitudes and behaviors. Further, target groups for improving bicycle helmet use were identified.

Uncovering evidence on community-based injury prevention: A review of programme effectiveness and factors influencing effectiveness

This study examines systematic reviews of community-based injury prevention programmes to obtain an overview of the evidence base on the effectiveness of these programmes and to analyse how effectiveness is measured and the extent to which factors contributing to achieving programme effectiveness are examined in these reviews. Thirteen systematic reviews were found, encompassing a total of 121 programmes. The results reinforced the well-documented point that the evidence regarding the effectiveness of community-based injury prevention programmes is inconsistent. Some of the programmes targeting specific injury categories, e.g. specific injury types and/or age groups, were successful, whilst more broadly targeted programmes demonstrated less convincing results. Effectiveness was predominantly measured as injury rate reductions. Only one of the reviews identified contextual factors that could have impacted on programme effectiveness. To advance the field, researchers and systematic reviews need to include evidence on factors that may explain how the effects were achieved.

The how and why of community-based injury prevention: A conceptual and evaluation model

Evaluations of community-based injury prevention interventions and programs thus far have been predominantly outcome-oriented, using quantitative data to demonstrate effectiveness, measured as injury rate reductions. Many of these evaluations have been characterised as “black box” evaluations, with inadequate information about the intervening and contextual factors that mediate the relationship between the program and its effects. This paper develops a model for evaluating community-based injury prevention programs which draws on ideas from theory-based evaluation, an approach to evaluation that has been advocated when the objective is not just to discover whether a program works, but to establish how and why it works. The purpose of this model is to offer a way of thinking about community-based injury prevention programs, as well as a structure and useful indicators for evaluating these programs. The model specifies the presumed causal chain of a multifaceted injury prevention programme, illustrating the causal assumptions linking six elements, from programme resources via delivery of and exposure to programme components to attitudinal effects, injury risk effects, and safety effects. In addition, the context may influence any or all steps of the pathway. The paper proposes a set of possible indicators relating to the elements. The description and measurement of the indicators require both quantitative and qualitative data.

Characteristics of instructors at Farm Safety 4 Just Kids day camps

Objective This paper describes the characteristics of instructors at six farm safety day camps sponsored through local chapters of Farm Safety 4 Just Kids. What are their backgrounds and experience? What motivates them to participate as farm safety instructors? How do they prepare and present their instruction? Design Data from 69 instructors were gathered as part of a larger evaluation of farm safety day camps conducted during the summer and fall of 2002. Setting Farm safety day camps occur throughout North America. The camps selected for this study were conducted in five states within the United States. The overwhelming majority of instructors were community volunteers without formal instructional training. Method A two-page survey was completed by the instructors on the day of the camp, and selected camp instructional sessions were videotaped and analysed by instructional design experts. Results Case examples of instructor characteristics and instructional styles are presented in order to promote a better understanding of persons who provide children with farm safety instruction at farm safety day camps. Preparation, training, teaching methods, and other characteristics of the camp instructors are discussed. Conclusion Findings from this analysis can be used by organisations that provide community-based injury prevention programmes as a planning tool for selecting instructors that can optimise the experience for children.

Strategies and goals of community-based injury prevention programmes – a mixed-methods study of 25 Scandinavian WHO Safe Communities

Documentation and analysis of prevention goals and interventions employed by community-based injury prevention programmes is vital to advance the knowledge and understanding of synergistic multi-strategy injury prevention programmes. This study examined the goals and interventions of 25 Scandinavian community-based injury prevention programmes in WHO-designated Safe Communities. Collection and analysis of quantitative data from survey questionnaires to the programme coordinators was followed by collection and analysis of qualitative data from structured interviews with programme coordinators from eight of the programmes. The results demonstrated that the programmes under study predominantly relied on ‘intuitive’ and subjective methods for selecting interventions. The programmes largely failed to transform injury surveillance data into information and knowledge that could prioritize community safety strategies and measures, due to insufficient time and personnel resources. The results demonstrated the importance of combining passive approaches with active interventions. Educational efforts were considered essential to the programmes. The programmes preferred to rely on broadly stated goals rather than specific objectives.

Simplifying data collection for process evaluation of community coalition activities – an electronic web-based application

It is important to document and measure coalition-based program activities in order to analyse and evaluate the process of program implementation. This paper describes the development and implementation of an electronic, web-based application to simplify data collection for this research process. Childhood injury prevention project officers collaborated with injury prevention researchers to adapt a process log monitoring system initially developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to track coalition activities for evaluating community efforts to prevent cardiovascular disease. The adapted process log was converted into an electronic, web-based application that project officers completed daily. The web-based electronic log proved to be a practical tool that not only simplified the documentation and reporting processes for health professionals involved in the program, but also provided a rich source of data for subsequent comprehensive analysis of project implementation. Development, implementation and evaluation of this web-based process log, to the best of our knowledge, is the only program of its kind in use and provides a simple data collection solution for practitioners, policy makers and researchers involved in injury prevention programs and other community-based programs throughout the world.