Childhood Bicycle Helmet Awareness
University of Washington School of Medicine, RUOP-III3
Christopher Barnes 2010
Purpose
The objective of this project was to educate the community of
Anaconda, Montana on the importance of not only wearing a bicycle
helmet, but wearing it properly.
Community Profile
Anaconda, Montana is a moderately-sized community of nearly
9,000 people in Deer Lodge County. In its origin, Anaconda was
once a major mining town; this is no longer the case, but the town’s
blue collar nature has remained. Like many communities in
Montana, the people of Anaconda are humble and hard working; but
are unaware of the potential dangers of bicycle accidents. As a
result, the majority of the children in the community do not wear
bicycle helmets.
Background
• Nearly one-third of childhood bicycle accidents result in a
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
• Proper Helmet use however has been shown to decrease the risk
of a TBI by up to 88%.
• Only 15% of children under the age of 16 wear their helmets on a
regular basis.
• Children from ages 10-13 are at the greatest risk of a bicycle
related TBI
•20% of children in this age group do not wear their helmets
properly.
Results
•25 educational pamphlets and 25 instructional guides were handed
out at the Live After Five Festival.
•During the Festival, community members were encouraged to
discuss bicycle helmet awareness with myself and their community
leaders. During this process:
•A member of the local Kiwani’s club showed interest in funding
affordable bicycle helmets for children within the community.
•The Community Hospital of Anaconda (CHA) board discussed the
possibility of matching a grant provided to them, that would fund
helmets that could be dispersed at their facilities.
•Anaconda Pediatrics, as well as a member of the pediatric staff at
Methods
St. James’ Hospital in Butte, MT, were provided with an electronic
copy of the pamphlet and instructional guide to disperse to their
patients.
•A literature review was done to identify the successfulness of bicycle helmets in
preventing childhood bicycle related TBI’s.
•An educational pamphlet on why children should wear helmets, and methods of
encouraging them to do so was constructed.
•An instructional guide was prepared on how to properly fit a bicycle helmet.
•The educational material was then handed out at a local town festival, Live After
Five.
•While at the festival, demonstrations on how to properly fit a helmet were giving to
interested community members.
Acknowledgements
A special thanks to Dr. Freddy Bartoletti and his family; The hospital staff at
CHA; the organizers of Live After Five; Lisa Benzel and the staff of
Montana AHEC; Dr. Laurel Desnick; and of course, the University of
Washington School of Medicine.