Evaluation of a first aid and home safety program for hispanic migrant adolescents

Background: Unintentional injuries are the major cause of death among children, adolescents, and young adults. This article presents an evaluation of an injury-prevention program for 11- to 16-year-old, Hispanic migrant youth. Design: Randomized controlled trial with two conditions: first aid and home safety training and tobacco and alcohol prevention. Participants were assessed at baseline, at immediate post-intervention, and at 1-year follow-up. Participants: A total of 660 Hispanic adolescent and parent pairs participated in a program entitled Sembrando Salud (sowing the seeds of health). Intervention: The intervention consisted of two conditions: first aid and home safety training and tobacco and alcohol prevention. Both groups were exposed to an eight-session, multimedia program presented by bilingual, bicultural college students. The sessions consisted of lectures, discussions, and skills development and practice. Outcome Measures: To examine the efficacy of the first aid and home safety intervention, adolescents were assessed for changes in first aid confidence, knowledge of items in a first aid kit, knowledge of how to respond in an emergency situation, acquisition of a first aid kit, and behavioral skills testing in response to two emergency scenarios. Results: Similar changes in confidence were observed in both groups after the intervention. Participants in the first aid and home safety program were better able to identify items to include in a first aid kit, how to respond in an emergency situation, and reported fewer erroneous victim-caring procedures than the tobacco and alcohol prevention group. Conclusions: Sembrando Salud was successful at achieving and maintaining change in confidence and knowledge of first aid and emergency response skills over a yearlong period.