Pop-Up Safety Town Evaluation

Jamie Holland, MD
Andrew Hashikawa, MD
Ashley Baggett, CHES
Wendi Wendt, MD

Unintentional injury is a leading cause of death in children, particularly in high-risk communities with substantial health disparities. Pop-Up Safety Town (PST) is a pediatric injury prevention program created to address the limitations of a “traditional” Safety Town to meet the injury education needs of the children and families who otherwise are unlikely to have access to this education and/or resources. Last year this program was adapted and implemented at the United Community Center, a local school/community center that serves primarily Hispanic children and families. This year we expanded PST to an additional site: the Midtown Clinic associated with our tertiary children’s hospital which serves primarily Black children and families. Feedback was obtained in the form of surveys to help improve future PST events.

Each event was tailored to the community’s individual needs. Topics that were identified as areas of need by both communities included 1) animal safety, 2) bike safety, 3) burn safety, 4) car seat safety, 5) fire safety, 6) pedestrian safety, 7) water safety, and 8) medication safety. The Midtown Clinic event also included 1) firearm safety, 2) lead testing, 3) Planned Parenthood, and 4) behavioral health resources. Feedback was obtained from school/community center staff, event volunteers, and caregivers of children impacted by PST. Survey questions addressed types of injuries experienced by their child/student, topics to be covered in future events, and how our injury prevention work can be sustained in their community.

We provided essential injury prevention education to approximately 350 K4 and K5 students over four half-day PST sessions at the United Community Center. Additionally, we reached approximately 40 children, as well as their caregivers, at our Midtown Clinic event. Every child was fitted with an adjustable bike helmet to take with them for use at home. A drawstring backpack filled with injury prevention resources was provided to each child to share with their caregivers. At the Midtown Clinic event, 15 children underwent lead testing. In addition, every caregiver was given a “Gun Safety in the Home” teaching sheet, regardless of whether they said there were firearms in their home. Fifteen trigger locks and 38 cable locks were distributed.

We collected 19 survey responses from the United Community Center events. Responses were overall positive with 84% of respondents stating they were very satisfied or satisfied with the event. Injuries most commonly sustained by their children included bike, skateboard, or scooter related injuries (45%), falls (45%), and animal bites (27%). Asks for future events included education surrounding playground safety and materials regarding affordable car seats. Survey responses from the Midtown Clinic event are still being collected.

PST is a mobile and budget friendly injury prevention program that seeks to include children and families that may be at higher risk for unintentional injury. PST is adaptable and reproducible in different settings. Program evaluation is essential to ensure that topics covered and resources provided are applicable to each community’s individual needs.

1. Pop-Up Safety Town (PST) is a pediatric injury prevention program developed to address the limitations of a “traditional” Safety Town and include children and families who otherwise are unlikely to have access to injury prevention education and/or resources.
2. PST events are tailorable to each community.
3. Program evaluation is essential to ensure that topics covered and resources provided are applicable to each community’s individual needs.