Evaluating the impact of an injury prevention measure regarding different sociodemographic factors

BACKGROUND: Road traffic collisions (RTC) remain a major problem especially among young road users. Injury prevention measures and licensing systems have increasingly been developed to counteract some of the negative effects of RTCs in youth. The Prevent Alcohol and Risk Related Trauma in Youth (P.A.R.T.Y.) program is an injury prevention program that promotes prevention through reality education. In this study, the impact of the program on different sociodemographic subgroups of school students was analyzed. The aim was to find out which subgroups were influenced the most and how improvements to the program can be made. METHODS: Evaluation was performed in a pre-post-intervention setting by means of a standardized questionnaire. The questionnaire contained three different sections with a total of 22 questions to identify students' responses regarding risk-behavior and risk-assessment. Evaluation was done at two different points on the same day (pre- and post- intervention). Data were analyzed with a focus on gender, age, residential area and level of education. Cronbach's alpha was used to check all questions for reliability. Data were analyzed using the t-test and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test with significance defined as p less than 0.05. RESULTS: The study sample contains 193 students (range 14-17 years of age, 44% male). Female students show better results regarding risk-behavior and risk-awareness. The same applies to students of a higher educational level. And students ≥ 16 years showed significantly better results in all three sections compared to younger students. CONCLUSIONS: Morbidity and mortality due to RTCs is a major problem in the group of young road users. Especially male road users between 14 and 17 years of age with a low educational level are at high risk to sustain road traffic injuries. Our results show that the P.A.R.T.Y. program has a stronger effect on young female students. Additionally, a significant effect was measured on students ≥ 16 years of age and on students with a higher educational level. Prevention measures need to be evaluated and further improved particularly in order to address the high-risk group of young, male road users with a lower educational status.