C. M. McLaughlin1, W. Barry1,2, E. Barin1, M. Mert3, C. Lowery4, J. Upperman1,2, H. Arbogast4, A. M. Jensen1,2 1Children’s Hospital Los Angeles,Pediatric Surgery,Los Angeles, CA, USA 2University Of Southern California,Department Of Surgery,Los Angeles, CA, USA 3Southern California Clinical and Translational Science Institute,Los Angeles, CALIFORNIA, USA 4Children’s Hospital Los Angeles,Injury Prevention,Los Angeles, CA, USA
Introduction: Unintentional injury is the leading cause of death in children. Elementary school children are at high risk for street crossing-related injuries. We hypothesized that an interactive pedestrian safety educational intervention is associated with lower incidence of pedestrian-related injuries in elementary school-aged children.
Methods: An interactive pedestrian safety educational intervention was implemented at target Los Angeles County elementary schools beginning in 2009. The intervention was designed to be administered over one day and included formal didactic education followed by simulated street crossings using a life-size set (Figure). A retrospective cohort study was conducted of 10 schools from 2012-2017. A statewide traffic records database was queried for reported pedestrian-related injuries in elementary school-aged (4-11 y) children at intervention school districts. Pedestrian-related injury incidence was compared one year before and after the intervention. A standardized rate ratio was calculated by comparing injury incidence at intervention school districts to the entire city of Los Angeles. A negative binomial model was used and p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.
Results: The total number of injuries reported in elementary school-aged children in intervention school districts was n=6 before and n=2 after the intervention, resulting in a significantly lower incidence rate (1.22 vs 0.40 per 10,000 children/year; p<0.001). The standardized rate ratio still reflected a significantly lower incidence of pedestrian-related injury after the intervention (rate ratio 0.28; 95% CI 0.11-0.73).
Conclusion:
Interactive street safety education at Los Angeles elementary schools was associated with a lower incidence of pediatric pedestrian-related injury. The observed difference was still significant after adjusting for injury incidence in the entire city of Los Angeles. These data suggest formal pedestrian safety education should be included into injury prevention efforts in similar urban communities.
