Oregon head and spinal cord injury prevention program and evaluation

Head and spinal cord injuries are the leading causes of death and disability in the age group from 15 to 24. The Oregon Head and Spinal Cord Injury Prevention Program study sought to determine whether an educational assembly program would affect students' knowledge, attitude, and behavior. An observation study on shoulder belt use showed no increase in usage following the program. Seven Portland high schools (4 experimental, 3 control) participated in a questionnaire evaluation. Two weeks before and after the educational assemblies, 1,331 student surveys were distributed nonrandomly in classrooms. Presurveys were matched to postsurveys by student name, resulting in 626 matches. Survey items are grouped into three categories: knowledge, attitude, and behavior. The experimental schools demonstrated a statistically significant increase in knowledge (two-tailed t test, p<0.01), suggesting that knowledge had been imparted. No change was found in attitude or behavior. To produce changes in attitude and behavior a reinforcement program might be necessary. Evaluation of the impact of the program on incidence may be premature.