Greater Dallas Injury Prevention Center TEXAS
PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION
In 1987, the National Center for Health Statistics ranked Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas as the
most dangerous metropolitan area in the United States in which to drive an automobile.
Within specific populations in Dallas County, injury rates from other causes such as burns,
falls, drownings, and poisonings are also particularly high. Each year in Dallas County,
three persons per thousand population will be a victim of major injury, three times the
national average. In 1991, Dallas County experienced a 38 percent increase in the number
of serious injuries over previous years. Deaths and hospitalizations due to injuries reached
the highest levels in recent history. The 1991 peak in injury rates remained the highest
Dallas had experienced until 1994, when the rates reached another all-time high.
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES
The goal of the Greater Dallas Injury Prevention Center (GDIPC) is to help reduce injury
rates in targeted communities in Dallas County. Specific 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
STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES
Over 100 community leaders from the health care, business, religious, and social services sectors met between November 1991 and November 1992 to forge a strategy to address the injury epidemic in Dallas effectively. Establishment of the Greater Dallas Injury Prevention Center (GDIPC) was a result of those meetings. It serves as a resource center for new and existing injury prevention programs throughout Dallas, and helps stimulate injury prevention activities within communities. The Safe Communities Executive Advisory Committee (SCEAC), composed of approximately 50 community
Greater Dallas Injury Prevention Center (GDIPC) (cont'd)
leaders, advises the GDIPC on matters of interest and significance to Dallas and establishes
the priorities of individual injury prevention efforts.
The strategy of the GDIPC is based on the World Health Organization's "Safe
Communities" philosophy that community level programs are fundamental to reducing and
preventing injuries. GDIPC matches the resources of existing safety-related organizations
such as SafeKids, Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the Texas Safety Association,
American Automobile Association (AAA), and the Academy of Pediatrics, with the injury-related needs of various communities. GDIPC also evaluates the effectiveness of each
previously-tested intervention. When effective injury prevention resources are not
available locally, the GDIPC helps communities identify model programs elsewhere. Upon
a community's acceptance of a model program, the GDIPC helps "customize" the
intervention to the particular community's needs/wishes. In instances where no known
interventions exist, the GDIPC coordinates academic and community resources to develop
and test new interventions.
RESULTS
In the area of traffic safety, GDIPC recently completed the Don't Wreck Your Week Campaign, a public information program for the City of Dallas that primarily targeted African American and Hispanic populations. The project included press events, crash displays at local malls, corporate sponsored presentations, and radio and television spots. Project personnel are currently evaluating the results of that campaign. Two zip code areas have been identified as target areas for a fall prevention campaign for the elderly. The zip codes were selected on the basis of an identified need for that type of program in those areas. Assessment of that campaign's success will occur after it has been in place for 12 months. GDIPC's statistical impact on overall injury rates in the Dallas County area will be assessed after the program has been in operation for about five years. The GDIPC is also working with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSAs) Region VI office to expand the program on a regional level.