Bicycle Helmets and Dentists

Volume 2, Number 4 - May/June 1999

In this excerpt from a conversation with BSC, Stephen McCloskey, Safe Communities of Jacksonville Program Manager, describes a project that reinforces the bicycle helmet lessons learned in school in a unique venue:

We're in our second year of the Bicycle-related Brain Injury Prevention Project, which is funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We wanted to expand the bicycle safety culture created by our school-based program into the community by getting key people to give the same messages to kids. I heard of a Colorado program that used dentists. Our county health department has a very big dental sealant program. I approached them to see if we could work in the dental clinics. We got the people who schedule appointments to ask parents if they could bring their child in 30 minutes early. If they did, they would get a free bicycle helmet. During each 30-minute program, we educate a group of four to seven kids in the waiting room. We use videos, games, and worksheets. And then we give each child a helmet and a lesson on its correct use. This year, we are trying a different approach. We want the program to be driven by the staff, and we want the dentist to do the education while the kid is in the chair. We had a hard time finding a dentist who would participate, but we did. We gave him a canned presentation and a flip chart-a five-minute presentation on brain injuries and a lesson on how to wear a helmet correctly. Each child gets a picture taken of him- or herself in the chair, wearing the free helmet, flanked by his or her parent or caregiver and the dentist. This picture goes on a contract that says, "I will wear my helmet every time I ride." The contract goes on their refrigerator so the kids and caregivers get reinforcement.

In the first year, our pre- and post-tests showed that the program resulted in a significant increase in knowledge and change in attitudes about helmets. We haven't crunched the data on the second year yet, but I like the concept of using the dentist, and not just the dental facilities, to help reinforce the message that the kids are getting in school.

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