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A School–Hospital Partnership Increases Knowledge of Pedestrian and Motor Vehicle Safety

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Abstract

Pedestrian and motor vehicle-related injuries are leading causes of morbidity and mortality in children. Trauma centers have specialized resources to conduct interventions that improve the safety of whole communities. In the present study, we evaluated the effectiveness of a school–hospital partnership in increasing knowledge of pedestrian and motor vehicle safety among students and parents in a large, urban community. Staff from a Level I pediatric trauma center conducted educational interventions in an urban public school district. Elementary school students participated in a pedestrian safety program, middle school students completed a community safety program, and high school students learned about the dangers of drunk and distracted driving. Students completed pre- and post-tests. Parents in the neighboring community received child passenger safety education at two child restraint (CR) inspection events. A total of 2203 students participated at a total of nine schools. Post-test scores were significantly higher than pre-test scores for students in all three age groups and within each grade level. At CR inspection events, 67 CRs were inspected, 49 (73 %) of which were replaced with new age- and weight- appropriate CRs. The most common instance of improper CR use was loose CR fit in vehicle seat (33 %). All 120 observed instances of misuse were corrected by a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician. Educational interventions effectively increased knowledge of pedestrian and motor vehicle safety among students and parents. We have demonstrated the utility of a school–hospital partnership for furthering knowledge of safety in an urban community.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the University of Southern California Good Neighbors (Grant Number 8333). The authors would like to acknowledge the following individuals for their assistance in conducting the interventions and collecting data: Santiago Chambers, Valerie Mira, Rene Morales, Israel Orta, Chantel Ponder, and Garrett Salzman. The authors would like to also acknowledge the following schools for their collaboration and willingness to partner with the sponsoring institution: Bravo Medical Magnet High School, Foshay Learning Center, John Mack Elementary School, Manual Arts High School, Murchison Street Elementary School, Norwood Street Elementary School, Sheridan Street Elementary School, St. Agnes Parish School, Vermont Avenue Elementary School.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Pediatric Surgery, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, 4650 Sunset Boulevard, Mailstop #100, Los Angeles, CA, 90027, USA

    Shelby L. Bachman, Helen Arbogast, Pearl Ruiz, Mina Farag, Natalie E. Demeter, Jeffrey S. Upperman & Rita V. Burke

  2. Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 90089, USA

    Jeffrey S. Upperman & Rita V. Burke

Authors
  1. Shelby L. Bachman
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  2. Helen Arbogast
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  3. Pearl Ruiz
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  4. Mina Farag
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  5. Natalie E. Demeter
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  6. Jeffrey S. Upperman
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  7. Rita V. Burke
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rita V. Burke.

Appendices

Appendix 1: Pre- and Post-test Questions for Elementary School Intervention

  1. 1.

    What sign do you look for to cross the street?

    1. a.
    2. b.
    3. c.
    4. d.
  2. 2.

    What should you always have with you when crossing the street?

    1. a.

      Your dog

    2. b.

      Your little brother or sister

    3. c.

      An adult

    4. d.

      A friend from school

  3. 3.

    What is the first thing you do when you get to a crosswalk?

    1. a.

      Keep walking

    2. b.

      Stop

    3. c.

      Walk slowly

    4. d.

      Look both ways

  4. 4.

    Before crossing any crosswalk what do you do?

    1. a.

      Look up and down

    2. b.

      Look at the driver

    3. c.

      Look left, right, left

    4. d.

      Look straight

  5. 5.

    How do you know if a driver has seen you?

    1. a.

      The car was slowing down

    2. b.

      They always stop

    3. c.

      By making eye contact with the driver

    4. d.

      I don’t know

  6. 6.

    What should you do if you see a friend going after the ball in the street?

    1. a.

      You scream and tell them to stop

    2. b.

      You help them get the ball

    3. c.

      You don’t do anything

    4. d.

      You watch out for cars

Appendix 2: Pre- and Post-test Questions for Middle School Intervention

  1. 1.

    Which is the most distracting AND causes the greatest amount of injuries to pedestrians?

    1. a.

      Cell phones

    2. b.

      iPods and mp3 players

    3. c.

      Food

    4. d.

      All are equally distracting

  2. 2.

    When walking alongside traffic and there is no sidewalk is present or no alternate route is possible, which is the safest direction to walk relative to passing traffic?

    1. a.

      Walking with the flow of traffic

    2. b.

      Facing oncoming traffic

    3. c.

      Safest to walk perpendicular to the flow of traffic

    4. d.

      Both (a) and (b) are equally safe

  3. 3.

    Which of the following is a dangerous place to send or read a text message?

    1. a.

      On the corner of a large intersection

    2. b.

      While driving a car

    3. c.

      In a crosswalk

    4. d.

      All of the above

  4. 4.

    Which of the following are safe practices while walking with distracting devices?

    1. a.

      Checking your email

    2. b.

      Talking on the phone

    3. c.

      Pausing or turning down the music on your headphones while crossing the street

    4. d.

      None of the above

  5. 5.

    What is the best way to be sure that a driver has seen you before crossing the street?

    1. a.

      Making eye contact with them

    2. b.

      Pressing the crosswalk button

    3. c.

      Sending a text to your friend to ask if they think the driver has seen you

    4. d.

      Step** out into traffic to get them to stop

Appendix 3: Pre- and Post-test Questions for High School Intervention

  1. 1.

    On average, how many seconds does texting take your eyes off the road?

    1. a.

      4.6 s

    2. b.

      1.1 min

    3. c.

      1.5 min

    4. d.

      5 min

  2. 2.

    Talking or texting on your cell phone while driving has a negative effect on your driving ability. It is most similar to which of the following?

    1. a.

      Driving while eating

    2. b.

      Driving while putting on make up

    3. c.

      Drunk driving

    4. d.

      Driving while talking to passengers

  3. 3.

    What is the leading cause of death for teenagers?

    1. a.

      Sports injuries

    2. b.

      Drowning

    3. c.

      Suicide

    4. d.

      Motor Vehicle Crashes

  4. 4.

    What is the most significant reason that young drivers are at greater risk than older drivers for being affected negatively by distracted driving?

    1. a.

      Young drivers have more friends so they text more often

    2. b.

      Young drivers are more likely to eat fast food while drivers

    3. c.

      Young drivers are more inexperienced than any other drivers on the road

    4. d.

      Young drivers are more likely to transport friends and family.

  5. 5.

    Texting while driving takes your eyes off the road for a significant amount of time; what distance is covered while sending a text and driving at 55 mph?

    1. a.

      Five cars

    2. b.

      two truck trailers

    3. c.

      3 basketball courts

    4. d.

      a football field

  6. 6.

    True or false: 16 years old drivers are more likely to cause the motor vehicle crashes that they are involved in than any other drivers.

    1. a.

      True

    2. b.

      False

Appendix 4

See Table 3.

Table 3 Los Angeles streets smarts pre- and post-test results (N = 945)
Full size table

Appendix 5

See Table 4.

Table 4 Community Canvass pre- and post-test results (N = 331)
Full size table

Appendix 6

See Table 5.

Table 5 Dangers of drunk/distracted driving pre- and post-test results (N = 927)
Full size table

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Bachman, S.L., Arbogast, H., Ruiz, P. et al. A School–Hospital Partnership Increases Knowledge of Pedestrian and Motor Vehicle Safety. J Community Health 40, 1057–1064 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-015-0031-3

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