Health promotion approaches to occupant protection: an epidemiologic framework

The size of the problem, the potential for prevention, and the Nation's prevention priorities all support public health action to prevent injuries. A balanced approach to this problem should include both environmental and health promotion strategies. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) is encouraging development of health promotion capability at the community level; the approach bases planning and implementation of programs on epidemiologic analysis to define the problem. Behavioral risk factor surveillance data will help states and communities establish baselines and determine priorities. Baseline data from the state-based surveillance system illustrate risk levels of motor vehicle occupants, e.g., 58% of adults report "seldom" or "never" using seat belts, and one of every seven males ages 18-34 report driving after having too much to drink. A health promotion plan developed by the Oakland County, Michigan, Health Department illustrates the use of these kinds of data as an epidemiologic framework; this plan identifies child passenger safety as a priority for action and establishes measurable objectives to reduce risk through health promotion programs. Health promotion includes not only interventions that support individual behavior change but also community change. By acquiring epidemiologic data and conveying it both to individuals and community decision makers, the public health community supports increased community efforts to protect occupants of motor vehicles.