New Project to Assess and Develop Traffic Safety Educational Materials for Hispanics

Newton, Mass.: Hispanics in the United States are at a disproportionate risk of traffic-related injury as compared to the general population. Unfortunately, a lack of culturally competent educational materials has hindered efforts to promote traffic safety in Hispanic communities.

Education Development Center’s Health and Human Development Programs (EDC/HHD) will conduct a large-scale assessment of existing traffic safety educational materials targeting Hispanics and will develop guidelines for creating culturally competent materials in the future. Support from this work comes from the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety (AAAFTS) and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In 2002, EDC/HHD researchers completed Seated for Safety, a unique, AAAFTS-funded study of child passenger safety educational materials. The study found that most child passenger safety educational materials targeting lay audiences are not appropriate for diverse cultural groups, including Hispanics. Although 30% of compiled materials were available in Spanish, most had never been field-tested to determine their appropriateness for Hispanic audiences. Simply doing a direct translation from English to Spanish rarely results in culturally appropriate educational materials, yet this was how most of the materials were produced. The study confirmed a long-suspected belief that current traffic safety educational materials do not meet the cultural and linguistic needs of Hispanics.

Building on research completed in Seated for Safety, the project will:

• Collect, catalog, and evaluate traffic safety educational materials targeting Hispanics
  
• Prepare a report on the strengths, weaknesses, and gaps of existing materials
  
• Develop and refine guidelines for creating educational materials for Hispanics
  
• Use the guidelines to develop one model educational material
  
• Develop a Web site featuring the guidelines and traffic safety resources targeting Hispanics
  
• Disseminate research findings

A project workgroup will convene experts who are knowledgeable about Hispanic communities and traffic safety issues. The group will also examine data to ensure all appropriate material has been collected, review and provide feedback on the draft and final guidelines, and provide input for the development of new traffic safety materials.

Study results will serve as a model for future traffic safety education materials for Hispanics and a prototype education product will be developed, along with a template for future materials.

For more information, please contact:
Christine Miara CMiara@edc.org, 617-618-2238
Scott Osberg sosberg@aaafoundation.org, 202-638-5944, ext. 7