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Tribal Injury Prevention

Currently the UNC Healthy Solutions team is providing Academic Advisor Services to the Indian Health Service (IHS) Injury Prevention Program (IPP) including:  1) redevelopment, pilot-testing, and evaluation of the IHS Injury and Violence Prevention Fellowship program; 2) IVP Course curriculum design and evaluation (formerly known as the “Short Courses”); and 3) consultation to IHS IPP manager.  The UNC team will work closely with the IHS IPP manager, the IHS IP training academic review committee, and other IHS environmental health staff who support training and workforce development activities.  The team will also consult with or contract specific services from American Indian/Alaska Native health and injury and violence prevention experts who have expressed interest in contributing to the project.

Prior to this, from 1997 to 2015, the UNC Healthy Solutions team provided training and technical assistance to American Indian & Alaska Native (AI/AN) tribes and tribal organizations.  The focus was to assess and improve community-based injury prevention programs, specifically to reduce motor vehicle crash injuries.  To that end, they developed tools and resources for injury prevention practitioners planning, implementing, and evaluating injury prevention program activities. The resources available on this page were developed with funding from:

  • Indian Health Service: Tribal Injury Prevention Cooperative Agreements Program (TIPCAP); Ride Safe Program; and Child & Youth Program.
  • AI/AN Tribes and Tribal organizations: Ho-Chunk Nation, Tohono O’odham Nation, White Mountain Apache Tribe, and San Carlos Apache Tribe.
  • Centers for Disease Control & Prevention: Tribal Motor Vehicle Injury Prevention Program (TMVIPP)

Resources for Download:

1. UNC-IHS Observational Seatbelt Use Survey Protocol (updated March 2011)

In 2003,  under contract to IHS, UNC faculty and staff pilot-tested a seat belt use observational survey protocol among several Tribal communities participating in TIPCAP to examine statistical and programmatic implications of observational location selection.  The purpose of the project was to recommend valid procedures to estimate seatbelt use in American Indian/Alaska Native communities.  Based on findings from the Seat Belt Observational Survey Protocol Development Project, UNC revised the Protocol in 2005, 2010, and in 2011.  This document summarizes four phases to follow the protocol:  1) Observation Location Identification and Traffic Volume Assessment; 2) Selecting Observation Locations to Survey; 3)  Conducting Observational Seat Belt Surveys; and 4) Summarize Annual Seat Belt Use Data.  The document also includes an appendix for estimating seatbelt use in small communities.

2. Ride Safe-Adapted Child Safety Seat Observation Survey Guide (February 2012)

This Guide was originally developed by a team of staff from the Indian Health Service and UNC for the Indian Health Service’s child passenger safety program called Ride Safe, a Tribal Head Start Center-based child passenger safety program that combines education and the distribution of child passenger safety seats to the families of Head Start aged children.  This adapted version of the guide was developed by UNC staff as a technical assistance tool for Tribes/Tribal organizations conducting child passenger safety initiatives for the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention’s 2010-2014 Tribal Motor Vehicle Injury Prevention Program and sought to help Tribal Injury Prevention Program coordinators in AI/AN communities make decisions about assessing child safety seat use rates in their communities.  The Guide provides instructions on conducting child safety seat use observational surveys.  The surveys described in this guide help to document the use of child safety seats.  They are not used to determine if the restraints are being used correctly.  Child Safety Seat ‘check’ events are used to assess proper use and, if necessary, make corrections to those using child safety seats incorrectly.

3. Traffic Safety Intervention Event Summary Templates

As part a four-year project to support the 2010-2014 CDC TMVIPP, UNC Team members developed four templates for use by community injury prevention coordinators to track consistent information about four types of traffic safety intervention activities promoted by TMVIPP.  Each of the following four templates includes an introduction, instructions on how to complete the template, a sample completed template, and a blank template:

 4. Sample Traffic Safety Formative Evaluation Surveys

As part of an evaluation contract to support the Ho-Chunk Nation in Wisconsin funded during the 2004-2009 CDC TMVIPP funding cycle, UNC Team members developed several formative evaluation surveys to assess knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding child safety seat use and enforcement, occupant restraint use and traffic safety laws, and youth alcohol use.  The questions used in each of the three sample surveys should be modified, as needed, to best suit your project’s needs and for use in your community.