CINCINNATI -- Ministers from African-American churches throughout Cincinnati have come together with Children's Hospital Medical Center of Cincinnati, the Boy Scouts, Red Cross, and Theatre IV to develop, implement and evaluate the African-American Youth Injury Prevention Initiative (AAYIPI).
Although unintentional injury is the leading cause of death for all children in the United States, it exacts a disproportionately high toll among economically deprived and minority children. Nationally, low-income and minority children are twice as likely to die in a car crash, four times more likely to die from drowning, and five times more likely to die in a fire.
In Hamilton County in 1997, although African-American children accounted foronly about 27 percent of the population, they accounted for 36 percent of all injuryhospitalizations at Cincinnati Children's. Sixty-five percent of all thechildren who died as a result of injuries were African-American.
AAYIPI is a one-year, church-based pediatric injury prevention pilot programfor over 2,000 children and their families in 14 churches in Cincinnati. Theprimary aim of AAYIPI is to increase the use of injury prevention devices and life-saving behavior among African-American children and their adult caregivers, ultimately resulting in reduced morbidity and mortality in this population.
In addition, AAYIPI aims to increase adult awareness of injury as the leading cause of death among African-American children and knowledge of effective injury prevention techniques. For evaluation purposes, half of the churches will serve as a control group and will not receive the full program until late 2001.
The AAYIPI curriculum consists of scripture-based injury prevention messagesfor parents, grandparents and children, including fire, gun, pedestrian, child passenger and home safety. Injury prevention and safety information will be integrated into Sunday school classes, messages from the pulpit, training sessions, church bulletin enclosures and handouts. Doctors, nurses and injury experts from Cincinnati Children's and parents of children who have experienced injury firsthand will present to families.
The children's lessons will be taught to children through the use of unique Safety Houses constructed and donated by the Boy Scouts Dan Beard Council. The Safety Houses will be used as a model to teach children about injuries that occur at home, including falls, burns, choking hazards, poisons, and bicycle safety.
The AAYIPI curriculum will be summarized in a family focused child safety theatrical production by Theatre IV. The dramatic all African-American production will educate families on the dangers of ignoring injury prevention techniques.
