PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
In 1987, the National Center for Health Statistics ranked Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas as the most dangerous metropolitan area in the United States for automobile travel. Plans were formulated for the development of an injury prevention center in the summer of 1991, after Dallas County experienced a 38 percent increase in the number of serious injuries over previous years. This alarming trend in the occurrence of injury also resulted in the development of the Dallas County Plan for a Comprehensive Trauma System.

In 1993, local hospitals had no formal plan in place to address the increasing injury rate in Dallas County. Further, estimates indicated that if changes were not made immediately, injury patients would outnumber the available beds in area hospitals by 1998. A panel of local experts composed of representatives of the Board of Managers by the Dallas County Commissioners Court, the City of Dallas, all area hospital systems, the Chamber of Commerce, Citizens Council, and social service agencies, examined this critical situation and developed a multi-year plan of action to address the problem.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
To help reduce the incidence and severity of injuries in targeted communities in Dallas County, the coalition of safety advocates created the Injury Prevention Center (IPC) of Greater Dallas in 1994. Specific program objectives include:

• Identifying the specific injury prevention needs of various communities
• Acting as a catalyst to encourage injury prevention work in communities
• Matching community needs with resources of safety organizations
• Providing targeted communities with education, public information, data collection, collaboration, community-based interventions and research

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
The IPC of Greater Dallas follows a best practice study of trauma in injury centers throughout North America, and is based on the World Health Organization's (WHO) Safe Communities Model. The Safe Communities philosophy differs from other injury prevention models in that the leading role is played by the community itself. The role of the IPC is to stimulate and mobilize residents to take an active part in identifying injury control issues and developing successful interventions to reduce injuries community-wide. The IPC uses these intervention methods in targeted communities:

• Safe Communities Model—suggests that the most effective way to reduce injuries is to engage the entire community in both the problems and the solutions
• Coalitions Model—enlists interested professionals and community leaders in coalitions to address specific injury issues
• Collaboration Model—fosters collaboration between 136 agencies to coordinate efforts in prevention
• Direct Practice Model—implements specific interventions researched and evaluated by the IPC

An example of an intervention implemented by the IPC of Greater Dallas, is a child safety seat program initiated in the Northwest Oak Cliff area in 1997. This program trains parents in the proper use of child safety seats in three Dallas communities.

RESULTS
Since implementation of the safety seat initiative, child safety seat use in the Northwest Oak Cliff area has increased from 18 percent in 1997, to 83 percent in 2000. During 2000, the Northwest Oak Cliff child safety seat program was expanded to include two additional communities. The program also distributes child safety seats donated by the Texas Department of Health to needy families. Overall, a total of 3,574 safety seats have been distributed in target communities throughout Northwest Oak Cliff.

Annually, approximately 21 child safety seat inspection events are conducted by the IPC throughout Dallas County.

In addition, the Citizens for Traffic Safety Coalition, an inter-disciplinary community group sponsored by the IPC, is currently developing an adopt-an-intersection program.