Description: Although child safety seats are known to reduce the risk of death from motor vehicle crashes, use among children 4-7 years old remains low and misuse is widespread. The aim of this prospective randomized trial was to test the efficacy of a smartphone app, Safety In Seconds 2.0, which delivered theory-based tailored education about child safety seats to parents in Little Rock, Arkansas and Baltimore, Maryland
Parents of children aged 4-7 visiting the pediatric emergency room in the two participating sites (regardless of the reason for the visit) were recruited. Study participants downloaded the Safety In Seconds app onto their smartphone and were randomized to the intervention (car seat) or control (fire safety) group. Both groups completed a 10-minute assessment about their safety knowledge and behaviors and received tailored feedback relevant to their study group. The app contained a portal with educational links and sent monthly push notification reminders for parents to interact with the app. Parents completed follow-up assessments at 3- months and 6-months.
A total of N=1129 parents were enrolled, and 742 (66%) completed the 6-month follow-up survey. At follow-up relative to the CG, IG parents were more likely to report using the correct child safety seat for their child’s age and size (OR=1.8; p<0.01) and were more likely to have had their child’s safety seat inspected by a car seat technician (OR=1.4; p<0.05).
Smartphone applications hold potential for changing behaviors that are known to improve child passenger safety. The Safety in Seconds App and promotional materials will be freely available for all participants.
Speaker: Wendy Shields, PhD, MPH
Associate Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Wendy Shields, PhD, MPH is an Associate Scientist in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Johns Hopkins University and an Associate Director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Shields is a research manager with more than 20 years of experience managing intervention trials. Her research interests include the prevention of unintentional injuries with a focus on home and motor vehicle injuries. She has a particular interest in the intersection of housing quality and home injuries. She has expertise in the development of educational materials for low literacy population. She is a founding member of the Navajo Injury Prevention Coalition. She has conducted an Injury Needs assessment in partnership with the White Mountain Apache Tribe.
Speaker: Elise Omaki, MHS
Epidemiologist and Research Associate
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Elise Omaki, MHS, is a Research Associate and a core faculty member of the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy. She was trained in epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and has over ten years’ experience conducting injury prevention research and practice including work on child passenger safety, home safety, prescription drug overdose, and violence prevention. She has designed and evaluated smartphone apps for injury prevention and subsequently guided the translation of those programs from research tools to products available to the wider public. Elise has a particular interest in the epidemiology of fire-related injuries and actively works with fire departments around the country to execute best-practice smoke alarm distribution programs.
Comments