A Community Based Video Challenge to Promote Poison Prevention

Poison exposure is now the 2nd leading cause of injury and death to children 5 years of age and under in California. Research suggests communities and individuals actively engaged in their health have better outcomes. Education and prevention are integral components of good health outcomes, but these messages do not reach many remote and at-risk communities because they lack cultural meaning and have been crafted for, rather than by, their intended audiences.

Through an innovative approach to meeting the needs of disadvantaged and at-risk populations, this challenge sought to cultivate scalable poison prevention education initiatives in remote and underserved areas. Using a social entrepreneurship model, at-risk communities were spurred to create, and provided the opportunity to share with each other and the broader public, novel approaches to poisoning prevention education.

Community groups were invited to concept poison prevention messages using cell phone videos, webcams or flip cameras as part of a statewide grassroots health challenge. Videos on poison prevention were collected and shared through You Tube. Judges from the community viewed and voted on all video submissions. Three winners were selected and received monetary prizes. All video submissions are available for viewing on You Tube and were disseminated through social networks.

Community based participatory education is a proven method to behavior modification and knowledge increase. The video challenge involved community partners and created innovative poison prevention education tools by and for the community. Low-cost and large reach education efforts using technology are needed to implement successful public health programs.