Marin County Life :: Promising Practices :: Increasing the Use of Child Restraints in Motor Vehicles

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An Evidence-Based Practice meets the following HCI criteria:

1. The program description includes at a minimum: the sponsoring organization, program goals, program implementation steps, and outcomes that have demonstrated program success in achieving the program goal in one or more localities.

2. The results from an evaluation of the program include quantitative measures showing improvement in the outcome(s) of interest after the implementation of the program (i.e. increase in smoking cessation, not just the delivery of a smoking cessation program). The outcome measure(s) is/are compared at relevant time periods before and after the intervention or program implementation. Alternatively, the evaluation study compares the outcome(s) between an intervention group and an appropriate control group.

3. The study is of peer-review quality and presents numbers in a scientific manner; measurements of precision and reliability are included (e.g. confidence intervals, standard errors), results from statistical tests show a significant difference or change in the outcome measure(s), and relevant point estimates and p-values are presented. Note: if the results from an evaluation of a program are presented in a scientific manner and the outcome measure is improved compared to the baseline measurement or the control group but the difference is not statistically significant, the practice is classified as effective and not evidence-based.

Increasing the Use of Child Restraints in Motor Vehicles

Ranking	Evidence-Based Practice
Description	A survey of Hispanic preschool-aged children in west Dallas conducted in 1997 showed much lower child restraint use (19%) than among preschool children of all races in the rest of the city (62%). This program used the Safe Communities model to develop a community intervention to increase child restraint use and adult safety belt use. Parents who participate in child safety seat classes, held in Spanish and English, receive a car seat. The program offers traffic safety workshops including information on vehicle safety, driver's licenses, immigration, social security laws, and proper installation of child safety seats. Pamphlets promoting the program were distributed at local stores, churches, and community centers. Local Spanish-language radio and television shows distributed educational materials about child safety seats. Pediatricians at health centers promoted child safety seat use. The program was promoted at health fairs, events at the health center, block parties, raffles, games to promote safety seat use, local festivals, and other events.
Goal / Mission	The goal of this program is to increase child restraint use by Hispanic community members.
Results / Accomplishments	This program was evaluated using observations of child restraint use at grocery stores, day care centers, and the health clinic before and after the intervention. Child restraint use among preschool-aged Hispanic children increased significantly in all three settings between 1997 and 2000 (p < 0.0001). By 2000, use of restraints among Hispanic children attending the health center was higher than use in the rest of the survey (72% vs. 68%). Use was substantially higher among children under one year than among children aged 2 to 4 years. Driver seat belt use also increased significantly in each of the three settings (p < 0.001) while driver seat belt use for other parts of Dallas showed no significant change.
Categories	Public Safety / Transportation Safety Health / Children's Health Transportation / Personal Vehicle Travel
Organization(s)	Injury Prevention of Greater Dallas
Source	American Journal of Public Health
Date of Publication	Jul 2002
Date of Implementation	1997
Geographic Type	Urban
Location	City: Dallas, TX
Primary Contact	Gregory Istre, MD Injury Prevention of Greater Dallas PO Box 36067 Dallas, TX 75235 (214) 590-4455 gistre@parknet.pmh.org http://www.injurypreventioncenter.org/
For more details	http://ajph.aphapublications.org/cgi/reprint/92...
Target Audience	Children, Racial / Ethnic Minorities
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