Adolescent All-Terrain Vehicle Exposure and the Association of Training Course Certification with Safety Behaviors and Crash Experiences
Charles Jennissen, MD, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine; Katharine Champoux, BA, BS, Medical Student, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine; Sienna Schaeffer, BA, BS, Medical Student, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine; Pam Hoogerwerf, BA, University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital; Kristel Wetjen, RN, MSN, University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital; Lauren Mulford, BA, University of Iowa Stead Family Children’s Hospital, Uche Okoro, PhD, University of Iowa Department of Emergency Medicine; Gerene Denning, PhD, University of Iowa Department of Emergency Medicine, Kari Harland, PhD, University of Iowa Department of Emergency Medicine
charles-jennissen@uiowa.edu
Charles Jennissen, MD, is a pediatric emergency medicine physician and a Clinical Professor in the Departments of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine. Dr. Jennissen grew up on a dairy farm in central Minnesota which plays a large part in his interest in safety and injury prevention, particularly regarding children and teenagers. He has been an advisory board member of I-CASH (Iowa Center for Agricultural Safety and Health) for 23 years.
Learning objective:
1. Participants will understand the proportion of adolescent students in Iowa that completed the Safety Tips for ATV Riders (STARs) program who are exposed to ATVs and how they use them for work and recreation. 2. Participants will be able to describe the ATV crash frequency of study participants who rode ATVs and the proportion that suffered injuries requiring medical attention. 3. Participants will be able to discuss the proportion of adolescent ATV riders that had completed a safety certification course and how their safety behaviors and crash frequency compared to those who had not completed a course.
A survey was conducted approximately one year after students had been presented the Safety Tips for ATV Riders (STARs) program in their schools. 4,906 students completed the survey from Fall 2012-Fall 2019. About one-fifth lived on a farm (19%) or in the country, but not on farm (22%). Just over two-fifths (42.0%) stated their families owned an ATV. Overall, 77% had ridden an ATV. Two-fifths (40%) reported riding at least weekly. Over two-fifths (43%) used them for both work and recreation and 6% used them for work only. In the previous 12 months, over one-fifth (22%) of riders reported having had a crash (rollover, collision or ejection) and of these, 17% had an injury requiring medical attention. Of those riding in the past year, only 8% had completed an ATV safety training certification course. Those having completed a course had higher proportions that wore helmets (30% always or almost always vs. 21% of those who had not taken a course, p<0.0001) and lower proportions that reported riding with passengers (63 vs. 79%, p<0.0001), but had higher proportions that reported riding on roads and having been in a crash. Multi-targeted approaches are needed to increase safe riding behaviors in adolescents.
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