PHOTOVOICE: Children's Perspectives on Road Safety in Seven Countries

Background

Road traffic injuries are the second leading cause of death worldwide among children aged 10-14 years old, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Motorization and urbanization in developing countries is predicted to dramatically increase in the next decade.

Methods

Safe Kids Worldwide provided grants to six member countries and 48 Safe Kids USA coalitions to participate in the PHOTOVOICE project. Students (age 10-14) took part in education sessions about pedestrian safety and photography before digital cameras were provided to capture photographs of the walking environments. Safe Kids coalitions in each city collected observational surveys, behavioral surveys, discussion notes, walking maps, pre-post tests and a post-research evaluation from participating students. Safe Kids Worldwide developed the project tools and each country translated the tools.

Results

To delineate pedestrian safety in major cities across the globe, the program worked with 1,676 students in São Paulo, Brazil; Toronto, Canada; Shanghai, China; Mumbai, India; Seoul, South Korea, Manila; Philippines and 48 communities in the United States to capture 4,300 photos and statements from children of and about the environments they experience while walking.

Conclusion

This is the first international study at Safe Kids Worldwide. Children captured traffic images near school zones and made statements about the behavior of citizens in traffic, the infrastructure built for the pedestrian and the road safety policy in their communities. The coordinated effort included the display of photographs and statements made by children in all countries in the country's capital city during October for a collective advocacy effort.