Kids and communities count: reaching migrant children and families with the North American Guidelines for Children's Agricultural Tasks (NAGCAT).

The Kids and Communities Count Farm Safety Lesson is a follow-up to our Kids Count Lesson that used the North American Guidelines for Children's Agricultural Tasks (NAGCAT) and was previously delivered to nearly 2,000 fifth-grade students in Hillsborough County, Florida. This year, the lesson was administered in two migrant schools and included a parent survey and a presentation of the lesson in a community setting. The lesson covers animal, machinery, water, and general safety topics applicable to farming in Florida. A staggered pretest-posttest study design was followed whereby school 1 (N = 66) received a multiple-choice pretest and posttest and school 2 (N = 91) received the posttest only, for a total sample size of 157 participants. Results of the study showed a significant increase in the mean number of correct answers on the posttest compared to the pretest, such that the mean score improved from 5.0 on the pretest to 6.6 on the posttest (paired t-test, p = 0.000). The results of the parent survey and the administration of the lesson in the community showed that over 50% of the 106 parent participants reported that their children were practicing safe farm behaviors since the lesson; however, there was a particular need to address pesticide safety in the community. This study shows the efficacy of the Kids Count lesson in improving farm safety knowledge among migrant school children, and the applicability and acceptance of the lesson by parents and community members.

Children's bicycle helmet use and injuries in Hillsborough County, Florida before and after helmet legislation.

The purpose of this research was to explore the changes in children's bicycle helmet use and motor vehicle bicycle related injuries in Hillsborough County, Florida before and after passage of the Florida's bicycle helmet law for children under the age of 16. The results show a significant increase in bicycle helmet use among children, ages 5-13, in the post-law years compared with the pre-law years. Also, there has been a significant decline in the rates of bicycle related motor vehicle injuries among children in the post-law years compared with the pre-law years. Although there have been complementary educational and outreach activities in the county to support helmet use, it appears that the greatest increase in use occurred after the passage of the helmet law. It is recommended that educational efforts continue to sustain helmet use rates and decreases in injuries.

Development and evaluation of the Kids Count Farm Safety Lesson.

The Kids Count Farm Safety Lesson was delivered to nearly 2,000 fifth-grade students in 15 rural schools in Hillsborough County, Florida. The lesson covered animal, machinery, water, and general safety topics applicable to farming in Florida. A staggered pretest-posttest study design was followed whereby five schools received a multiple-choice pretest and posttest and the remainder of the schools (N = 10) received the posttest only. Results of the study showed a significant increase in the mean number of correct answers on the posttests compared to the pretests. There was no significant difference in the mean number of correct answers of those students who received the pretest and those students who had not, eliminating a "pretest" effect. This study fills an important gap in the literature by evaluating a farm safety curriculum offered in the elementary school setting. It also included migrant schoolchildren in the study population. It is strongly recommended that agricultural safety information be included into the health education curriculum of these elementary schools.

An analysis of injury deaths on Florida farms for years 1989 through 1998.

The purpose of this study was to analyze injury deaths on Florida farms for years 1989 through 1998. A review of death certificates was undertaken for children, 0 to 17 years, and adults, ages 18 and older. There were a total of 231 injury deaths during this time period. Twenty deaths were in children and 211 deaths were in adults. The leading cause of death was machinery for both children and adults. Farmworkers between the ages of 60 to 89 were more likely to die of tractor deaths than other adult age groups. In addition, adult males were more likely to die on Florida farms than adult females, however, females were more likely to die as a result of a homicide. This study begins the injury related surveillance efforts of the Deep South Agricultural Health and Safety Center.

Middle school students and bicycle helmet use: knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors.

Previous research has shown that bicycle helmet use among older children and adolescents continues to be low. This study determined middle school students' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors related to bicycle helmet use. Six middle schools in Hillsborough County, Fla., served as the research settings. A pretested survey instrument was administered to students. Overall, 3,333 sixth and seventh graders responded. Results showed that most children owned a bicycle, 38.1% owned a helmet, but only 15.8% wore a helmet the last time they rode a bike. Many students (49.7%) did not know or did not believe there was a bicycle helmet law in Florida. Predictors of helmet use were intention to use a helmet the next time one rides a bike, having a helmet, siblings' use of helmets, and friends' use of helmets.

Evaluation of a poison prevention lesson for kindergarten and third grade students.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the MORE HEALTH poison prevention lesson that is given to kindergarten and third grade students in Hillsborough County, Florida. The lesson reaches approximately 6000 students per year. METHODS: The evaluation was based on a post-test only control group design. Three schools were chosen as evaluation sites and three served as control settings. Students were administered a previously tested, age appropriate questionnaire that addressed the goals of the poison lessons. In addition, a survey was developed for intervention school parents to determine their poison prevention practices. RESULTS: One hundred ninety four intervention schoolchildren and 184 control schoolchildren completed the study. Children in the intervention schools consistently answered more questions correctly than those in the control schools. The parent survey showed that the majority have homes that are safe from poisons, although fewer than 50% said they had syrup of ipecac in their homes. CONCLUSIONS: These results show that key concepts related to poison prevention can be communicated effectively to primary school students and parents report having homes safe from many poisons.

The MORE HEALTH bicycle safety project.

A K-2 MORE HEALTH bicycle safety education program was provided in nine elementary schools in Hillsborough County, Florida. This innovative community program consisted of interactive education sessions and reduced-cost bicycle helmet sales. Evaluation of the pilot program showed that it affected helmet use in the intervention schools compared to nine other schools that served as controls. More than 1,000 helmets were distributed through the bicycle helmet sales. Approximately 3,500 children participated in the education sessions. The preprogram helmet use rate among all schools was 8.5%. Postprogram results showed that the helmet use rate among intervention schools was significantly greater than among control schools (p < .01). This report describes the MORE HEALTH bicycle helmet promotion program.

Risk factors for drowning and near-drowning among children in Hillsborough County, Florida.

The authors obtained data from 700 households in Hillsborough County, FL, in a telephone random survey to determine risk factors for incidents of drowning and near-drowning among children in the county. The survey was conducted from August through December 1991. A combination of forced-choice and open-ended questions was used to assess adults' drowning-related knowledge, attitudes, and prevention behaviors, as well as the incidence of and the circumstances surrounding drowning and near-drowning among children who lived in those households. The results showed that although most respondents had some knowledge of the epidemiology of drowning and near-drowning among children, deficits were noted in their knowledge of the importance of adult supervision and the recommended age at which to begin children's swimming instruction. Results showed a need for isolation fencing, that which separates a swimming pool from a house and yard. Most respondents reported that they did not know how to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on an infant or child. More than 40 percent reported not knowing how to perform CPR on an adult. Respondents reported no drowning or near-drowning incidents among children of their household within the last 3 years. However, the respondents did describe water-related immersions that involved children who experienced difficulty in the water, but recovered by themselves or with the aid of a nearby person. In some instances the child's breathing pattern was altered. There were three episodes during which difficulty in breathing occurred. The respondents reported a total of nine childhood water-immersion episodes within their families, none of which had been reported to treatment facilities. Recommendations are provided for programs for prevention of childhood drowning.

Postpartum patients' knowledge, risk perceptions, and behaviors pertaining to childhood injuries.

The purpose of this study was to assess postpartum patients' knowledge, risk perceptions, and behaviors pertaining to a variety of childhood injuries. Although the respondents did demonstrate some knowledge of injury prevention strategies, deficits were noted in the areas of burns, motor vehicle injuries, drownings, and falls, as well as in the concept that injuries, in some children, are unavoidable. Results showed that greater than 50% of mothers did not know the temperature of their hot water tank, 22.4% who had other children under the age of four did not use car safety seats with them, and only 43% of the mothers knew how to perform infant cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Recommendations for program development in parenting classes are included in addition to the roles of nurses and nurse-midwives in injury prevention program activities.