Head Injury Prevention Program:
Phase II KANSAS
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PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
The leading cause of long term disability and death among teenagers and young adults is
head and spinal cord injury. More than 5,000 head and spinal cord injuries occur each
year in Kansas alone. The burden to Kansas residents is more than $50 million. Nearly 50
percent of all head and spinal cord injuries occur in motor vehicle crashes, where safety
belts and safety helmets could have a positive effect on the outcome.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of Phase II of the Head Injury Prevention Program is to reduce the number of
head and spinal cord injuries occurring as a result of motor vehicle crashes. Specific
objectives include:
Educating junior and senior high school students and others about the causes and
consequences of head and spinal cord injury
Raising awareness about disabilities and disability issues to encourage risk management
behaviors
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
In the first phase of this project, a staff member from the Head Injury Association of
Kansas and Greater Kansas and a volunteer from Kansas City traveled throughout Kansas
conducting 70-90 prevention education programs annually. This process helped introduce
the issue of head and spinal cord injury prevention to schools, but it also proved limiting in
the amount of time spent with each school.
Phase II is a localization plan that emphasizes the identification, recruitment and training of local volunteer presenters in communities throughout Kansas. Presentations include
Head Injury Prevention Program:
Phase II (cont'd)
appearances by survivors of head and spinal cord injuries, as well as explicit information
on the causes and physical, emotional, and financial consequences of these injuries.
Students are taught the importance of using safe behavior to prevent head and spinal cord
injuries from occurring.
Phase II also includes reinforcement of the prevention message through pre- and post-prevention activities within the schools. Schools are asked to participate in at least three prevention activities. This statewide, community supported effort is designed to educate students about the importance of prevention activities. Phase II has expanded the number of schools involved in Head Injury Prevention activities, and therefore, the number of students reached. An added benefit of the localization plan is an increase in community awareness and involvement.
RESULTS
From June through September 1993, there were 8 presentations made, reaching 744
students. During the 1993 to 1994 school year, 50 presentations were made, targeting
3,504 young people. In the 1994-1995 school year, the total number of presentations
increased to 92, with the prevention message reaching 9,386 students. Response from both
students and teachers to this program was very favorable. Personal testimonies from
survivors of head and spinal cord injuries made the greatest impact on audiences and led
participants to examine their own behavior more closely.