ARKANSAS
Child Passenger Safety Education Project

PROBLEM IDENTIFICATION

Arkansas has one of the highest rates of childhood death in the nation with 33 deaths per 100,000 as compared to the national average of 26 deaths per 100,000. From 1995 to 2000, there were 297 traffic fatalities involving children under 16 years old. In addition to this human toll, traffic crashes cost Arkansans $2.6 billion a year, including an estimated $272 million in medical costs.

Children who ride unrestrained are at greater risk for injury or death in the event of a crash. In 2000, there were 40 traffic fatalities (motor vehicle occupants) involving children under the age of 16; of these, 26 were not restrained. Moreover in 2000, restraint use was lower in rural areas (45 percent) than in urban areas (50.2 percent). In Arkansas, a predominantly rural state, an estimated 35 percent of parents do not have age-appropriate car safety seats for their children, either because they cannot afford one or because they do not realize the importance of safety seats.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The goal of the Child Passenger Safety Education project was to:

• reduce the number of deaths and injuries to children involved in traffic crashes by educating the public, particularly rural and minority populations; and
• provide training on all aspects of child passenger safety that is targeted to childcare professionals and health care professionals.

STRATEGIES AND ACTIVITIES

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences’ Child Passenger Safety Education Project was started in FY 2001 to undertake a variety of activities.

• Conduct eight National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Standardized Child Passenger Safety Training Courses to train at least 80 technicians.
• Conduct two NHTSA re-certification trainings for approximately 50 technicians.
• Provide training on the fundamentals of child passenger safety to at least 144 healthcare and childcare professionals at 20 regional workshops statewide, two of which will be in Arkansas Delta counties.
• Conduct educational presentations on the importance of child safety seats at five statewide conferences.
• Provide a minimum of ten child safety seat checkpoints for public education.
• Facilitate a statewide continuing education teleconference for physicians.
• Distribute educational literature to the public and promote public awareness of the project.

RESULTS

The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Department of Pediatrics conducted a Child Passenger Safety Education project for childcare and healthcare professionals with additional emphasis in the state’s Delta Region. This project included conducting car safety seat checkpoints for the public, developing statewide partnerships, distributing educational literature, and conducting a teleconference for physicians.

The results of this project include the following milestones.

• Trained 445 childcare professionals during 17 regional and three statewide workshops.
• Educated 460 healthcare professionals at 15 regional workshops.
• Conducted 14 child passenger safety certification training courses resulting in 104 certified technicians and one certified instructor.
• Conducted 27 community child safety seat checkup events where 2,040 child safety seats were checked/installed. One of these checkups was conducted in partnership with Boost America and the United Way to target low-income individuals.
• Conducted three, half-day training workshops in the Delta Region for 78 participants.