Objective:
Unintentional injuries are the leading cause of death for children in the United States, and young children ages 1 to 4 years are particularly at risk. Supervising for Home Safety (SHS) is a Canadian intervention that has been shown to reduce children’s injury risk by increasing caregiver supervision. Given that low-income children are at greatest risk for injury, this study describes a process of modifying the SHS program to be culturally appropriate for low-income families of U.S. preschool children.
Method:
Two rounds of focus groups were completed; feedback from the first round of focus groups was used to modify program materials prior to the second round.
Results:
Caregivers gleaned important take-away messages from both the original and modified materials, including the idea that injuries can happen quickly and caregivers can prevent injuries. Modifications to the intervention included increased diversity in the families represented in the videos as well as inclusion of U.S. injury statistics. Caregivers in both rounds of focus groups noted that the program messages were relatable and realistic and that the materials were impactful in increasing their awareness of children’s injury risk.
Conclusion:
We were able to successfully modify the SHS program to be appropriate for low-income U.S. families while preserving the core program messages.
Implications for Impact Statement
Focus groups with caregivers from U.S. preschool programs serving low-income children found that a child injury prevention program was successful in increasing caregivers’ awareness of the importance of supervising children more closely to prevent injuries. Based on caregiver feedback, changes to the program were made to make it more culturally relevant to low-income U.S. families.
