Parents as Advocates for Child Pedestrian Injury Prevention: What Do They Believe about the Efficacy of Prevention Strategies and about How to Create Change?

Abstract

This study describes the support of parents and other community members for child pedestrian safety measures, their willingness to pay in terms of volunteer time and money for efforts to make child pedestrian safety improvements in their neighborhood, and their views on how to affect child pedestrian safety improvements in their communities. In partnership with four city public elementary schools, data were collected through focus groups of parents and other caregivers and through a written survey distributed to parents and caregivers. The findings reveal that parents and caregivers are aware of a full range of prevention measures for the child pedestrian injury problem but are especially supportive of speed bumps, safety education for parents, and better traffic enforcement. Parents and caregivers are uncertain about what kind of strategies would work well to get changes made in their communities to protect child pedestrians. They also reveal that they are willing to get involved in trying to get changes made. Parents and other community members can be willing and effective partners in injury prevention, but they can benefit from receiving more information about the value of environmental prevention measures and from skill-building in injury prevention advocacy. © 2003 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.