healthy people 2020 - Society for Public Health Education

thursday – saturday | november 4-6
✯ Poster Abstracts ✯
behind the wheel. A challenge is presented to us to make further reductions
in motor vehicle safety because if we keep doing the same thing,
we’ll get the same result and our goals will not be achieved. We must
realize that new strategies and ways to educate the public are needed. A
shift in our safety culture and ways to harness technology needs to occur
to help guide us in the decade ahead and beyond. Our safety on our
Nation’s highways is being compromised every day and this presentation
will discuss some of the strategies being used to help keep all of us safe
behind the wheel and improve safety for all Americans.
49. Motor Vehicle Crashes and Adverse Maternal
Outcomes in North Carolina
Catherine J. Vladutiu, MPH, Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of
Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Charles
Poole, ScD, Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public
Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Stephen W. Marshall,
PhD, Department of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Carri Casteel, PhD, Department
of Epidemiology, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University
of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Mary K. Menard, MD, Department of
Obstetrics & Gynecology, School of Medicine, University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill; Harold B. Weiss, PhD, Department of Preventive and Social
Medicine, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago
background: Motor vehicle crashes during pregnancy are the leading
cause of maternal morbidity and mortality in the United States. Very little
is known about the circumstances surrounding these crash events and the
maternal characteristics that may increase women’s vulnerability to crashrelated
injuries during pregnancy. Only a few population-based studies
have examined maternal and fetal outcomes following crashes. However,
many of these studies used hospital data and were able to capture only the
most severe crashes. This study aims to estimate the incidence of motor
vehicle crashes during pregnancy, the incidence of crash-related maternal
injuries, and the prevalence of seat belt use in all reported crashes during
pregnancy in North Carolina.
hypothesis: Based on the crash fatality rate of women in North Carolina
and findings from other state-based research, we hypothesized that 3-4%
of pregnant women would be in a motor vehicle crash in North Carolina
between 2001 and 2008. We further hypothesized that the majority of
these crashes resulted in no or minor injuries and that unbelted pregnant
women sustained more severe injuries than belted pregnant women.
methods: Motor vehicle crashes during pregnancy were examined
retrospectively in a cohort of 952,602 singleton live births and fetal deaths
among pregnant women aged 16 to 44 in North Carolina between 2001
and 2008. Probabilistic record linkage was used to identify women and
fetuses who were in a crash during pregnancy by merging live birth and
fetal death records with police-reported motor vehicle crash records.
Descriptive analyses were used to assess the distribution of maternal and
crash characteristics.
results: Between 2001 and 2008, approximately 3% of women in North
Carolina whose pregnancy resulted in a live birth or fetal death were in a
crash during pregnancy. The majority of these women were 25 to 34 years
old, non-Hispanic White, married, high school graduates, and did not use
tobacco or alcohol during pregnancy. Approximately 53% were not injured,
38% sustained minor injuries, and 9% were moderately or severely injured as
a result of the crash. Less than one percent sustained fatal injuries. Ninetysix
percent were wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash. Injury severity
differed by belt use such that a higher proportion of unbelted women sustained
moderate or severe injuries (27%) compared to belted women (8%).
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sophe conference ✯ november 4-6, 2010
conclusion: Despite the relatively high proportion of pregnant women
in crashes who used seat belts, approximately half sustained injuries.
Maternal injuries can adversely affect the health and survival of the fetus
and further analyses should assess the impact of crashes and subsequent
injuries on fetal outcomes.
implications for practice: Pregnant women should continue to
receive prenatal counseling about the risk of motor vehicle crashes
during pregnancy and the importance of seat belt use to prevent harm
to themselves and their fetus. Routine linkage of police-reported crash
records with live birth and fetal death records would facilitate research
on the effect of crashes during pregnancy and help raise awareness of
this important issue.
50. Healthy Homes Pilot Project to Prevent
Childhood Exposure to Indoor Environmental Hazards in
Los Angeles County
Brittany N. Morey, MPH Candidate, UCLA
Children living in low quality housing are at greater risk of disease and
injury caused by indoor environmental hazards, such as: lead, mold,
asbestos, pests, dust, allergens, poison, chemicals, radon gas, and sources
of injury. Chronic exposure to these hazards causes poor health outcomes,
including brain and nerve damage, lead poisoning, lung cancer,
behavior problems, learning problems, asthma, allergies, slowed growth,
unintentional injury, and even death. The Healthy Homes Pilot Project
is a partnership between the Los Angeles County Department of Public
Health’s Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program and the faithbased
organization, Kingdom Causes. The goal of the Healthy Homes
Pilot Project is to prevent childhood exposure to indoor environmental
hazards in the California cities of Monterey Park and Alhambra. The
project coordinator provided skill-building workshops for local community
organizations and family service providers. Parents and childcare
providers were encouraged to attend workshops to learn how to prevent
children from being exposed to hazards in the home and at childcare
centers. As a result, over 60 families and childcare providers received
training. Pretests and posttests show an increase in knowledge about
childhood lead poisoning prevention and healthy homes topics amongst
workshop attendees. Providing parents and family service providers with
healthy homes knowledge and skills is necessary to prevent childhood
disease, unintentional injury, and death. Healthy Homes Workshops are
an effective means to motivate and educate communities about indoor
environmental hazards.