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Pediatric injury prevention programs: Identifying markers for success and sustainability
Sofia Chaudhary1, Wendy J Pomerantz, Beverly Miller
1From Emory University School of Medicine (S.C., M.A.), Atlanta, Georgia; Children's Healthcare of Atlanta (S.C., M.A.), Atlanta, Georgia; Cincinnati Children's Hospital (W.J.P.), Cincinnati, Ohio; Comprehensive Children's Injury Center (W.J.P.), Cincinnati, Ohio; Arkansas Children's Hospital (B.M.), Little Rock, Arkansas; Emory University School of Public Health (A.P.), Atlanta, Georgia.
Insights
Pediatric injury prevention programs with dedicated staff and stable funding are more sustainable. Institutional support is key for successful injury prevention initiatives in children.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Pediatrics
- Trauma Surgery
Background:
- Childhood injury remains a critical public health issue, necessitating effective prevention strategies.
- Pediatric hospitals and trauma centers offer injury prevention (IP) programs, but a lack of national standards hinders consistency.
- This study investigates the characteristics of successful and sustainable IP programs within the Injury Free Coalition for Kids (IFCK) network.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify key factors contributing to the sustainability and success of pediatric injury prevention programs.
- To characterize the current landscape of IP programming within the IFCK.
- To provide insights for improving existing and developing new IP initiatives.
Main Methods:
- A 30-question survey was distributed to IFCK sites, collecting data on program demographics, activities, self-efficacy, and outcomes.
- Data analysis involved calculating frequencies and counts, with statistical comparisons using chi-squared tests.
- Survey responses from 38 out of 42 (90.4%) IFCK sites provided comprehensive program data.
Main Results:
- Most programs were based in children's hospitals or Level I pediatric trauma centers, with a majority having dedicated full-time equivalent (FTE) staff.
- Steady funding sources were reported by over 60% of programs, primarily from their affiliated hospitals.
- Programs with institutional financial and FTE support were more likely to be larger and confident in their sustainability, though this did not correlate with research output or legislative impact.
Conclusions:
- Institutional financial and FTE support are strongly associated with the sustainability of pediatric injury prevention programs.
- Understanding program variations and success factors can help guide the development and enhancement of IP initiatives.
- These findings offer valuable benchmarks for pediatric IP programs seeking to improve their effectiveness and longevity.
Background:
Injury is the leading cause of death in children. Although many pediatric hospitals and trauma centers provide injury prevention (IP) programming, there is no national standard. This study aims to identify characteristics of a sustainable and successful IP program by querying programs affiliated with the Injury Free Coalition for Kids (IFCK).
Methods:
The IFCK sites were sent a 30-question survey via e-mail. Questions focused on demographics, scope of IP activities, self-efficacy, and outcome measures including finances, academic productivity, and legislative advocacy. Counts and frequencies were calculated and compared using χ tests.
Results:
The survey was completed by 38 (90.4%) of 42 sites. The majority were associated with a freestanding children's hospital (57.9%) and Level I pediatric trauma center (86.8%). Most programs (79%) had at least one dedicated full-time equivalent (FTE) staff. Research was most common on child passenger safety and teen driving. Nearly 30% of programs offered educational curricula to health care providers; these sites were more likely to have FTE support (p = 0.036). Steady sources of funding were identified for 60.5% of programs, with 47.8% citing their hospital as the primary source; 73% of respondents were confident in their program's capacity to sustain activities; these were more likely to be larger programs (p = 0.001) with steady sources of funding (p < 0.001). Despite 73.7% of sites having academic affiliations, 60.5% had 5 or fewer publications over the previous 5 years. In the prior 2 years, 55.3% of programs impacted legislative or policy changes. Funding, size of program, and FTE had no statistical correlation with research productivity or number of legislative/policy contributions.
Conclusions:
This study characterizes the variation among pediatric IP programs within IFCK sites, while highlighting the association between financial and FTE support from programs' institutions with sustainable IP programming. These results can assist programs in identifying differences in relation to their peers.
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