Child Pedestrian Injury Prevention Project (1995-1997)
Investigators
- Dr Donna Cross
- Dr Peter Howat
- Dr Mark Stevenson
- Dr Debre Blaze-Temple
Project Coordinators
- Steve Jones
- Jill Officer
Outline and Rationale
Few comprehensive pedestrian safety interventions for primary-school-age children have been developed and comprehensively evaluated. The three-year (1995-1997) Child Pedestrian Injury Prevention Project (CPIPP) which followed a cohort of 1603 children from ages 7 to 9 years, comprised an educational intervention for students, their parents and teachers, and the local community, as well as several environmental interventions. The primary aim of CPIPP was to improve children’s road-related behaviour and to enhance the safety of their road environment.
Three communities were assigned to the treatment conditions:
(1) high-education, community, and environmental interventions;
(2) moderate-education intervention only; and (3) comparison (usual
road safety education). Children’s pedestrian knowledge
and road crossing and playing behaviours were assessed using a
self-report questionnaire. Self-reported road crossing behaviours
were validated using an observational schedule and brief student
interview.
Key Outcomes
Children in the high and moderate intervention groups were significantly more likely to cross the road with adult supervision and play away from the road than the comparison group. No differences were detected in children’s pedestrian safety knowledge between the intervention and comparison groups. While several methodological limitations may have influenced the study outcomes, these data nonetheless indicate that in the study sample the CPIPP educational intervention decelerated the natural increase in children’s pedestrian-related risk behaviour. Further the Project findings indicated that a multifaceted approach to pedestrian injury prevention is required and that educational or environmental strategies used in isolation will have only limited long-tem impact on the reduction of child pedestrian injuries.
Uniqueness of Research and Overall Significance in Australia / Internationally
The CPIPP outcomes will be sustained beyond the funding life of the project as a result of:
- Integrating the educational materials into the K-10 resources used in all schools throughout Western Australia as part of the WA School Road Safety Project
- Publication of our formative, process and impact evaluation data.
- Work with the Police Department: including a Minor Offenders Package and Cops for Kids Road safety education program
- Involvement in the Main Roads WA implementation of the 40km/hr speed zone around schools
Funding
- Western Australian Health Promotion Foundation (Healthway)
- Main Roads Western Australia
- Western Australian Office of Road Safety
Publications and Presentations
Cross, D, Stevenson, M, Hall, M, Burns, S, Laughlin, D, Officer, J and Howat, P. Child Pedestrian Injury Prevention Project: Student Results. Preventive Medicine 30: 179-187,2000.
Stevenson, M, Jones, S, Cross, D, Howat, P and Hall, M. The Child Pedestrian Injury Prevention Project. Health Promotion Journal of Australia. 6(3): 32-36, 1996.
Howat, P, Jones, S, Hall, M, Cross, D and Stevenson, M. The PRECEDE-PROCEED model: application to planning a child pedestrian injury prevention program. Injury Prevention. 3: 282-287, 1997.
Stevenson, M, Iredell, H, Howat, P, Cross, D and Hall, M. Measuring Community / Environmental Interventions: The Child Pedestrian Injury Prevention Project. Injury Prevention 5: 26-30, 1999.
Howat P, Cross D, Hall M, Iredell H, Stevenson M, Gibbs S, Officer J, Dillon J, et al. Community participation in road safety: barriers and enablers. Journal of Community Health 26:4, 2001.
Burns, S., D. Cross, et al. (1998). Measuring the Impact of the Child Pedestrian Injury Prevention Program on Lower Primary School-aged Children. Health Promotion Journal of Australia 8(3): 195-201, 1998.
Life Span Adaptation Projects University of Toronto (2000),Compendium of Effective, Evidence-Based Best Practices in Prevention of Neurotrauma. University of Toronto, Department of Human Development and Applied Psychology, Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation.