Assessment of a Child Injury Prevention Intervention in the Texas-Mexico Border

Unintentional injury is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity among young children in the United States and it disproportionately affects low income families. The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to investigate the effectiveness of injury prevention training for Mexican American households living in impoverished areas along the Texas-Mexico border, known as colonias (neighborhoods), and 2) to conduct a home hazards assessment. This was a non-randomized, cross sectional one group, pre-post-test design that included 58 households with children ages 14 years and under. Certified promotoras conducted face-to-face educational interventions, applied a questionnaire and used a direct observation assessment survey. Descriptive and inferential analyses were used for data analyses. There was a statistically significant increase in child injury-related knowledge among participants at post-test in all four global categories measured: Infant safety (ages 0-2 years) (p=0.0001), child safety (ages 2-8 years) (p= 0.0001), road safety (p=0.0001), and home safety (p= 0.0001). Hazards found in the homes of participants were lack of safety caps on electric outlets and no smoke alarms. This study suggests a culturally-appropriate intervention is effective in increasing injury prevention knowledge of U.S. border residents living in low-income areas. There is a need for culturally-appropriate interventions for this population.

Assessment of a Child Injury Prevention Intervention in the Texas-Mexico Border Academic Article