Unsafe ride home from the hospital: Child injury prevention and home visiting

Many of the clients are served by the Kern County Department of Public Health (KCPHD) live in rural, semi- rural areas, or socio-economic status areas. Clients living in the largest city, Bakersfield have problems with transportation, and if pregnant sometimes have health issues making attending a low cost car seat class impossible. The Child Injury Program (CIP) Program found many pregnant mothers could not attend the low cost educational classes, due to lacking transportation or health issues such as hypertension, or bed rest. These barriers were reducing attendance in the low cost car seat classes, and many of the women and their newborn children were not being sent home safely from the hospital. In an effort to address these barriers and the unsafe ride home from the hospital, the child injury prevention coordinator, and a public health nurse completed home visits, directly relating to car seat safety. Additionally, after the educational component, car seat could then be installed at the clients' home eliminating the need for borrowed or expired car seat use when being released from the hospital. The one- on – one visits have increased the amount of women who have been seen and given information on injury prevention, as well as substantially reduced the gap in services who because of health or transportation issues could not attend low cost car seat classes. The visits ensure the car seat is installed properly, and reduces the amount of borrowed and expired car seats used in Kern County.