In this injury prevention poster, it is stated that injuries continue to be a serious health problem worldwide and account for more lives lost than any disease entity. In accordance with Healthy People 2010 objectives, efforts to reduce deaths and nonfatal injuries can be directed towards increasing usage of safety belt and child restraint devices for all occupants involved in motor vehicle crashes. US Census data reveal that immigration accounts for more than 31% of the shift in demographics of people within the USA since 1990. The projected impact on racial/ethnic groups is a rise of 15% within those electing to reside in the USA. The steady rise of traffic-related injuries and fatalities, coupled with the historically low safety belt use within Massachusetts, indicated a need for educational materials focused on the following 4 traffic topics: child passenger, restraint use, pedestrian, and bicycle safety. The languages selected were Haitian Creole, Khmer, Portuguese, Russian, and traditional Chinese. Based on the findings from an environmental scan, educational materials on the 4 priority topics were developed in each of the 5 languages identified. Accurate data regarding race and ethnicity of those injured in traffic-related events is very limited. Injury prevention programs may begin to identify populations at risk through the examination of readily available census data. Complementing specific injuries according to race/ ethnicity is a challenge. As populations continue to diversify, more work needs to be done to ensure education is available. As health care advocates, consider supporting systems that accurately collect data relating to race/ethnicity to reflect populations at risk.
Abstract