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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Susan DeFrancesco, JD, MPH1, Shannon Frattaroli, PHD, MPH1, Andrea C. Gielen, ScD, ScM, CHES2, Bernard Guyer, MD, MPH3, Patricia Mahoney, MA4, and David Bishai, MDMPHPhD5. (1) Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, 410-502-8671, sdefranc@jhsph.edu, (2) Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins University School of Hygiene and Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, HH-750, Baltimore, MD 21205, (3) Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205, (4) Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy, Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, 624 N. Broadway, Baltimore, MD 21205, (5) Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe St, Baltimore, MD 21205
Purpose: Child pedestrian injury and death remains a major public health problem, especially in urban settings. The most effective strategy to reduce child pedestrian injury risks is to create a safe environment. The purpose of this research is to identify and understand the political and community factors that hinder and facilitate the implementation of environmental modifications to protect child pedestrians in urban settings. Methods: In-person interviews were conducted with twenty key informants in Baltimore City. These included school administrators, community leaders, local politicians, representatives from city-wide community organizations, and from city agencies including the traffic and planning departments, and the city police. Results: The interviews are completed and the data compiled. Analyses of the data will reveal the key informants' views on: the major factors that lead to child pedestrian injury; what needs to be done to protect child pedestrians; the role communities play in getting safety improvements made; the potential role for academic research institutions, and the factors that act as barriers and facilitators to change. For example, preliminary results reveal agreement on the community's need for injury data to facilitate change and the lack of funding as a major impediment to change. Conclusion: Proven environmental solutions to child pedestrian injury are available, but the process for getting those solutions implemented is not well understood. Understanding the factors that impede or facilitate the implementation of safety improvements is critical for planning injury prevention interventions, working with community partners to affect change, and achieving success.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Injury Prevention, Community-Based Public Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.