TEXTING WHILE DRIVINGKASHA MARTIN

JAMIE PAIVA

MARSHA THOMAS

BRANDIE ZIMMERMAN

INTRODUCTION: TEXTING WHILE DRIVING

• Growing concern for distracted driving and vehicle crashes, especially with teenage drivers (O’Brien, Goodwin, & Foss, 2010, p. 549).

• Cell phone use

• Texting while driving: The most risky driving activity among all cell phone-related tasks (Madden & Lenhart, 2009, p. 3)

• “The single most serious health problem of our teen population” (Thompson, 2010, p. 183)

• More teenagers killed than drugs, alcohol, suicide, and homicides combined (as cited in Thompson, 2010, p. 183)

INTRODUCTION: TEXTING WHILE DRIVING

• The following presentation will discuss:

• Demographics

• Cultural descriptors that impact health

• Statistics related to population and risk factors

• Community risk

• The Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)

• Our plan of action to reduce the rates of teenagers that text while driving, the setting that it will take place, and plan for evaluating its effectiveness

• Three goals of Health People 2020 that support the need to focus on anti-texting while driving initiatives

DEMOGRAPHICS

• Highest incidence of distracted drivers occurs in the under-20 age group (Madden & Lenhart, 2009, p. 3)

• Licensed teen drivers in high school

• Aged 16-17 (O’Brien, Goodwin, & Foss, 2010, p. 549; Madden & Lenhart, 2009, p. 3)

• Boys and girls are equally likely to report texting behind the wheel (Madden & Lenhart, 2009, p. 4)

CULTURAL DESCRIPTORS THAT IMPACT HEALTH• Teenagers are inexperienced drivers

• Texting while driving is more socially accepted in the teenage population (Hoff et al., 2013, p. 34)

• Neurocognitive development

• Prefrontal cortex of brain is still developing until mid-20’s (Thompson, 2010, p. 185).

• Adolescents are capable of recognizing and understanding risks but are unable to act in accordance with this understanding (O’Brien, Goodwin, & Foss, 2010, p. 553).

STATISTICS RELATED TO POPULATION AND RISK FACTORS

• According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (2013):

• Distracted drivers using cell phones process 50% less environmental information needed to operate a motor vehicle safely

• Last year 390,000 people were injured in car crashes resulting from driver distraction

• 9 people die everyday as the result of distracted driving accidents

• 69% of drivers in U.S. have used their cell phones while driving in the past 30 days

STATISTICS RELATED TO POPULATION AND RISK FACTORS

• In a survey conducted by Hoff et al. (2013) 1857 licensed drivers were surveyed for driver distraction and behavior (p. 31). The results for driver distraction are listed below.

STATISTICS RELATED TO POPULATION AND RISK FACTORS

• A survey was conducted with 800 teenagers between the ages of 12 and 17. They were asked about their experiences as passengers and drivers related to distracted driving (Madden & Lenhart, 2009, p. 8).

Age Passenger in Car While Driver-Texting

Passenger in Car While Driver Talking on Cell Phone

Driver Texting While Driving

Driver Talking on Cell Phone While Driving

12-15 48% 40% N/A N/A

16-17 64% 48% 32% 54%

STATISTICS RELATED TO POPULATION AND RISK FACTORS

Another study surveyed teens to find out about their cell phone usage while driving (O’Brien, Goodwin, & Foss, 2010, p. 550). 1949 questionnaires were sent out, 539 were completed of which only 320 were licensed to drive unsupervised and could be used.

Do you text and drive? Do you talk and drive?

71% 79%

COMMUNITY RISK

• Texting while driving: it increases the risk of car crashes, resulting in injuries and deaths (Thompson, 2010, p. 183)

• EVERYONE is at risk: drivers, passengers and pedestrians

• Texting while driving is a socially accepted practice (Hoff et al., 2013, p. 34)

• False sense of security

HEALTH BELIEF MODEL: THEORY OF PLANNED BEHAVIOR• States that a person’s attitude toward a behavior, subjective

norms, and perceived behavioral control are all factors that influence a person’s intentions and behaviors (Pender, Murdaugh, & Parsons, 2011, p. 40-41).

Source: http://people.umass.edu/aizen/tpb.diag.html#null-link

PLAN OF ACTION

• Our Mission:

• To reduce the number of high school drivers that report that they text while driving by raising awareness of the risks and dangers.

• Our Objectives:

• By March 2015, to increase by 30% the self-reporting of high school teenage drivers that do not text and drive.

SETTING FOR PLAN OF ACTION

• High schools

• Assemblies: Presentation and guest speakers

• Driver education courses offered through the school

PLAN OF ACTION: STEP 1 OF 5

• Action Step 1: Gather at least 100 behavioral survey responses from high school drivers that own cell phones from each of five area high schools, and calculate the data gathered from surveys.

• Person(s) Responsible: Kasha Martin, Jamie Paiva, Marsha Thomas, and Brandie Zimmerman

• Date to be Completed: April 2014

• Resources Required: $1,500 for printing costs

• Potential Barriers or Resistance: Teens being reluctant to take survey/reluctant to answer truthfully for fear of getting in trouble (must reinforce that surveys are completely confidential)

• Collaborators: High school administrators and high school students that drive and own cell phones

PLAN OF ACTION: STEP 2 OF 5

• Action Step 2: Securing printed educational materials.

• Person Responsible: Kasha Martin

• Date to be Completed: May 2014

• Resources Required: $7,000 for printing costs

• Potential Barriers or Resistance: None

• Collaborators: Casey Anderson Feldman Foundation and the NHTSA

PLAN OF ACTION: STEP 3 OF 5 • Action Step 3: Find guest speaker(s) (a victim of texting and driving/someone

who personally caused harm to others due to their texting and driving)

• Person Responsible: Jamie Paiva

• Date to be Completed: June 2014

•Resources Required: Internet and phone access

•Potential Barriers or Resistance: Potential speaker not having time to participate in all assemblies/not willing to speak in public (stage fright) (must convince of the importance of topic and their ability to save lives!)

• Collaborators: Guest speaker(s)

PLAN OF ACTION: STEP 4 OF 5

• Action Step 4: Create a 20-30 minute presentation to be performed in high school assemblies.

• Person Responsible: Marsh Thomas

• Date to be Completed: August 2014

• Resources Required: Internet access and PowerPoint software

• Potential Barriers or Resistance: Potential speaker not having time to participate in all assemblies/not willing to speak in public (stage fright) (must convince of the importance and their ability to save lives!)

• Collaborators: Guest speaker(s)

PLAN OF ACTION: STEP 5 OF 5

• Action Step 5: Secure time slots for presenting and handing out educational material during high school assemblies, then perform presentations.

• Person Responsible: Brandie Zimmerman

• Date to be Completed: June 2014 through February 2015

• Resources Required: Internet and phone access

• Potential Barriers or Resistance: High schools not having time available during their assemblies to accommodate presentation (must convince them of importance of topic and the safety of their students and anyone on the road/negotiate to reduce time of presentation)

• Collaborators: High school administrators

PLAN OF ACTION: EVALUATE

• Hand out the same behavioral surveys that were given the year prior to at least 100 high school drivers that own cell phones from each of the same five area high schools, and calculate the data gathered from surveys. Compare 2014 data to 2015 data.

HEALTHY PEOPLE 2020: ADOLESCENT HEALTH

Goal:

“Improve the healthy development, health, safety, and well-being of adolescents and young adults” (US Department of Health and Human Services [US DHHS], 2013).

• Make up 21% of the population (US DHHS, 2013)

• Behavior patterns developed during this developmental period influences health status and risks (US DHHS, 2013)

• Motor vehicle crashes are listed as a public health and social problem (US DHHS, 2013)

• Adolescents are susceptible to environmental and social influences (US DHHS, 2013)

HEALTHY PEOPLE 2020: INJURIES AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION

Goal:

“Prevent unintentional injuries and violence, and reduce their consequences” (US DHHS, 2013).

• Events resulting in injury, disability and death are predictable and preventable (US DHHS, 2013)

• Choices such as risk taking (texting while driving) increase injuries (US DHHS, 2013)

• Social environment influences risk for injury (US DHHS, 2013)

• Motor vehicle crashes related to distracted driving is an emerging issue (US DHHS, 2013)

HEALTHY PEOPLE 2020: SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH

Goal:

“Create social and physical environments that promote good health for all” (US DHHS, 2013).

• “Conditions in the environments in which people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks” (US DHHS, 2013).

• Education

• Public safety

REFERENCESCenters for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]. (2013, May 23). Distracted

driving. Retrieved from www.cdc.gov/Motorvehiclesafety/Distracted_Driving/index.html

Community Tool Box. (2013). A model for getting started. Retrieved from http://ctb.dept.ku.edu/en/get-started.

Hoff, J., Grell, J., Lohrman, N., Stehly, C., Stoltzfus, J., Wainwright, G., & Hoff, W. (2013). Distracted driving and implications for injury prevention in adults. Journal of Trauma Nursing, 20(1), 31-34. doi 10.1097/JTN.0b013e318286616c.

Madden, M., & Lenhart, A. (Eds.). (2009). Teens and distracted driving: Texting, talking and other uses of the cell phone behind the wheel. Pew Research Institute. Retrieved from http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/Teens-and-Distracted-Driving.aspx.

REFERENCESO’Brien, N., Goodwin, A., & Foss, R. D. (2010). Talking and texting among

teenage drivers: A glass half empty or half full? Traffic Injury Prevention, 11, 549-554. doi 10.1080115389588.2010.516036.

Pender, N., Murdaugh, C., & Parsons, M. A. (2011). Health promotion in nursing practice. (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.

Thompson, R. (2010). What’s really hurting our kids? The school nurse role in preventing teen vehicle fatalities. NASN School Nurse, 25(4), 183-187. doi 10.1177/1942602X10370367

US Department of Health and Human Services [US DHHS]. (August, 2013). Healthy People 2020. Retrieved March 25, 2014. Retrieved from http://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/default.aspx