Youth safety education and injury prevention program

Unintentional injury remains the leading cause of death in U.S. children. This article provides a case evaluation of a school based youth safety education program based on the Think First National Injury Prevention Program curriculum. Partners for the program included an urban elementary school, a school of nursing, a Safe Kids Coalition, a regional trauma center, and pediatric, community, and critical care nurses. A convenience sample of 140 second grade children in a mid-Atlantic elementary school participated in a 1 hour-a-week injury prevention class over the course of 6 weeks. The Think First National Injury Prevention Program served as the core curriculum and evaluation framework. At the end of the program, knowledge test scores increased an average of 35% over pre-test measures. Ninety-eight percent of the faculty, staff nurses, student nurses, children, and parents indicated a positive overall value of the program and the need for it to continue on an ongoing basis. Safety resources are provided for pediatric nurses to use in their diverse practice settings.