Goods for Guns--the use of a gun buyback as an injury prevention/community education tool.

BACKGROUND: US children aged between 5 years and 14 years have a rate of gun-related homicide 17 times higher and a rate of gun-related suicide and unintentional firearm injury 10 times higher than other developed countries. Gun buyback programs have been criticized as ineffective interventions in decreasing violence. The Injury Free Coalition for Kids-Worcester (IFCK-W) Goods for Guns buyback is a multipronged approach to address these concerns and to reduce the number of firearms in the community. METHODS: The IFCK-W buyback program is funded by corporate sponsors, grants, and individual donations. Citizens are instructed to transport guns, ammunition, and weapons safely to police headquarters on two Saturdays in December. Participants are guaranteed anonymity by the District Attorney's office and receive gift certificates for operable guns. Trained volunteers administer an anonymous survey to willing participants. Individuals who disclose having unsafely stored guns remaining at home receive educational counseling and trigger locks. Guns and ammunition are destroyed at a later time in a gun crushing ceremony. RESULTS: Since 2002, 1,861 guns (444 rifle/shotgun, 738 pistol/revolver, and 679 automatic/semiautomatic) have been collected at a cost of $99,250 (average, $53/gun). Seven hundred ten people have surrendered firearms, 534 surveys have been administered, and ≈ 75 trigger locks have been distributed per year. CONCLUSIONS: IFCK-W Goods for Guns is a relatively inexpensive injury prevention model program that removes unwanted firearms from homes, raises community awareness about gun safety, and provides high-risk individuals with trigger locks and educational counseling.

On the road with injury prevention--an analysis of the efficacy of a mobile injury prevention exhibit.

BACKGROUND: To assess the effectiveness of a mobile injury prevention vehicle (mobile safety street [MSS]) with a hands-on curriculum on instruction and retention of safety knowledge compared with traditional classroom safety curriculum among grade 5 elementary school children. METHODS: Grade 5 students (n = 1,692) were asked to participate in the study as either the intervention group (MSS experience) or the comparison group (traditional classroom safety curriculum). Each student in the intervention group was asked to complete a series of three surveys. The first survey was given before the MSS visit (Fall 2009), the second immediately following the MSS visit (Fall 2009), and a third given 6 months after the MSS visit (Spring 2010) to measure knowledge retention. Students in the comparison group were asked to complete two surveys. The first survey was given at the same time as the intervention group (Fall 2009) and the second was given after the completion of the traditional classroom safety curriculum (Spring 2010). RESULTS: Students scored on average 5.67 of 10 (5.56-5.80) before any safety instruction was given. After MSS instruction, mean scores showed a significant increase to 7.43 of 10 (7.16-7.71). Such increase was still measurable 6 months after the intervention 7.34 (7.04-7.66). The comparison group saw a significant increase in their mean scores 6.48 (6.10-6.89), but the increase was much smaller than the intervention group. CONCLUSIONS: Community-based injury prevention programs are essential to reducing preventable injury and deaths from trauma. This study demonstrates that a hands-on program is more effective than traditional methods for providing safety knowledge.

The reality of teenage driving: the results of a driving educational experience for teens in the juvenile court system.

BACKGROUND: In the United States, one third of all deaths in teens are a result of motor vehicle crashes, accounting for 6,000 deaths annually. Injury Free Coalition for Kids-Worcester in collaboration with Worcester Juvenile Court has developed an interactive program for first-time teenaged driving offenders, Reality Intensive Driver Education (Teen RIDE). This full-day program at the trauma center provides a realistic exposure to the consequences of risky driving behaviors. This article examined the driving offense recidivism rates for Teen RIDE participants versus a comparison group (CG). METHODS: The intervention group (IG) consists of teenagers between 13 years and 17 years who have been arrested for the first time for a serious driving offense and are sentenced by a Worcester Juvenile Court Judge or Magistrate to the Teen RIDE program. They are required to attend the program as a condition of probation, so attendance is mandatory. Each participant in the IG completed the program and was tracked for driving reoffenses for 6 months after completion of the course. The CG consists of also first-time driving offenders. The CG was matched with the IG with respect to age (13-17 years), sex, and offense type. Springfield, Massachusetts, serves as the site for recruitment of the CG, since it is demographically similar to Worcester but 60 mi away. Students in the CG had no exposure to this program. Each CG member was also tracked for 6 months after arrest. RESULTS: The recidivism rate for Teen RIDE participants 6 months after the course is 6% with 0% reoffending more than once. The CG has a recidivism rate of 56% 6 months after the arrest and 14% have more than one reoffense. The CG is 13.062 (4.296-39.713) times more likely to reoffend, and this is significant (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: The Teen RIDE program provides an impactful exposure of the consequences of risky driving behaviors to teenaged participants. In addition, Teen RIDE participants are significantly less likely to reoffend after completion of the course. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Therapeutic study, level III.