Atlanta Inquirer
10-18-2003
Health educators play a crucial role in preventing injuries, the leading
cause of death among children and youth in the United States. More than 70
percent of all deaths among those 10 to 24 years old result from injuries
caused by motor vehicle crashes, unintentional injuries, homicide and
suicide. A special supplement to the American Journal of Health Education
(AJHE) presents studies and education programs proven effective in reducing
the toll of a broad range of injury-related issues, including bullying,
motor vehicle crashes among teen drivers, and suicide. The supplement also
outlines comprehensive school health guidelines to prevent unintentional
injuries, violence and suicide.
The Injury Center of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
co-sponsored the supplement along with the Health Resource and Services
Administration's Maternal and Child Health Bureau (HRSA).
'Public health moves from data to action, and health education is an
essential part of any comprehensive approach to preventing injuries and
disabilities,' said Sue Binder, MD, Director of the CDC Injury Center.
'Public health education can be used to encourage individual behavior
change, it can be a major contributor to changing social norms, and it can
help create policy changes that save lives.'
The AJHE supplement gives health educators strategies to apply in schools
and communities, such as:
* Suicide Prevention - Describes the magnitude of the suicide problem among
young people in the United States and outlines opportunities for
prevention. Authors suggest that establishing crisis services and developed
a trained cadre of gatekeepers, might be one way to provide a 'safety net'
for youth in a crisis. Screening efforts combined with educational efforts
may also be an effective way to identity and focus on these high risk
youth.
* Teen Driving - Outlines a strategy combining graduated driver licensing
with persuasive communications between parents and teens to reduce the
number of motor vehicle crashes among teens. Currently, teen crash rates
are higher than those for any other age group. The authors discuss the
Checkpoints program designed to increase parental limits on teens' early
driving, especially the first year of driving. Through the use of
parent-teen education and skills training using videos, newsletters and a
parent-teen driving contract, the program helped to alter parents'
understanding of teen driving risks and the benefits of restricting teen
driving. The authors report that the Checkpoints program helps manage teens
unsupervised driving at night, teen passengers and hi-speed road driving
during the first three months after licensure.
* Pedestrian Safety - Points to the potential role of parents and community
'members in preventing child pedestrian injuries. Parents are willing to
volunteer time and money to improve their communities, but they often do
not know how they can make these changes in their neighborhoods. The
authors found that parents are generally aware of education, enforcement,
and environmental changes needed for pedestrian safety, but do not know
which strategies work best. The authors suggest that health education can
facilitate dialogue with communities about the pedestrian injury problem
and potential solutions.
'Public education lies at the core of Department of Health and Human
Services initiatives to reduce the nation's high rates of obesity, asthma
and diabetes. This special supplement shows how health educators in schools
and communities also can be used to help prevent injuries and violence,'
said Elizabeth M. Duke, Ph.D., HRSA administrator.
Article copyright The Atlanta Inquirer.
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