The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #41777

Lynne H. G. Swartz, MPH, CHES, Ann Glang, PhD, and Karen McLaughlin, PhD. Oregon Center for Applied Science, 1839 Garden Avenue, Eugene, OR 97403, 541-342-7227, lswartz@orcasinc.com

This project created an intervention designed to improve pedestrian safety skills for children in grades K-3. While most children in this age group are accompanied when crossing streets, pedestrian/motor vehicle accidents remain the most common cause of death from trauma for the 5-9 year old age group, and most often occur while the child is walking along, playing in, or crossing the street (NHTSA, 2000). Most curricula for this content are based on videos and/or worksheets and are largely unevaluated for efficacy. This program attempts to improve on these efforts by creating a 3-D, "virtual environment" to better simulate the street crossing environment and to improve generalization from the intervention to actual streets. Results from an evaluation of a prototype of this program indicate that a computer-based approach was generalized to real-life street environments. Using proven instructional design methods, users navigate a series of realistic traffic scenarios in typical, increasingly complex urban, suburban, and rural environments. Students acquire and practice skills including staying on the sidewalk, obeying traffic signals, recognizing potentially dangerous vehicles, and navigating intersections, driveways, and parking lots. A clinical trial with 400 children is planned for fall of 2002 for the complete expanded program. This presentation will discuss the results from the prototype and the theoretical considerations in the development of such a program and show excerpts from the program.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the issues related to pedestrian safety for young children
• Identify components of a pedestrian safety program for young children
• Describe applying instructional design principles to a computerized 3-D environment

Keywords: Injury Prevention, Technology

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: Employment