Focus on Pediatrics-Awareness and education spur helmet use
Message broadcast in schools, community events
The bicycle safety program initiated by Cincinnati-based HMO ChoiceCare/Humana provided bicycle helmets to the community at low or no cost, but staff knew they had to do more than get the helmets into the hands of children to prevent injuries. The key was to get the helmets on the kids' heads. To do so, they created an awareness and education campaign with the media message, "Bike gear is the right gear."
"The concept was that if we could provide helmets cost-effectively and make them accessible to the community, we would be able to get helmets on kid's heads. That is the goal of the program, to increase helmet use in the greater Cincinnati area," says Jennifer Franklin, MEd, health education coordinator for ChoiceCare/Humana.
In 1995, the first year "Use Your Head, Use a Helmet" began, an observational study revealed that 8.1% of all children enrolled in the HMO were wearing helmets. In 1997, the number was up to 10.9%, and the HMO hopes to raise that number to 13%.
The Institute for Policy and Research of the University of Cincinnati conducts the observational study each spring. During the study, spotters stake out neighborhoods and count the children who do and don't wear bicycle helmets. The process helps ChoiceCare/Humana identify areas the bicycle safety helmet message has not yet penetrated.
The message penetrates the neighborhoods in many ways. They include:
• Media campaign.
Television, radio, and print ads are created to make people more aware of the reasons to wear a helmet. For example, one television ad showed what can happen to your head when you crash without a helmet by dropping a melon with and without the safety equipment. Because parents must be convinced that it is important for their children to wear helmets, many of the ads target parents. However, ChoiceCare/Humana knows that if children don't believe wearing a helmet is cool, they will remove it as soon as they are out of their parents' sight.
• Education in the schools.
Each year beginning in March, an educational message is delivered to children in kindergarten through third grade. Representatives from the police and fire departments often are used to facilitate these talks. To help demonstrate helmet safety, a brain mold filled with gelatin is dropped in the classroom with and without a helmet. A short video is also shown, and some literature is distributed. "We target the younger children because we know that if we get kids into the habit of wearing a helmet while they are young, they will follow through with it. It is easier to start the habit in first grade than in sixth grade," says Franklin.
• Community outreach.
When communities host safety and health fairs, ChoiceCare/Humana sets up a booth on bicycle safety. They also participate in a local, annual police-sponsored event in which they provide a helmet giveaway. People hear about the event on the radio.
Community members can purchase bicycle helmets for $10 and multi-sports helmets for $15 at some area hospitals and physicians' offices. However, at many events people can get them for free. In 1999, 300 helmets were given out. ChoiceCare/Humana partnered with Children's Hospital in Cincinnati to split the program's cost.
To get pediatricians involved, the HMO sent information about the program along with bicycle safety brochures to their offices. Many asked to participate in the helmet distribution as a result of the mailing. "Parents tend to pay more attention when the information comes from their child's pediatrician," says Franklin.
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