Approximately 60 families learned about keeping kids safe at home, in the car and at play from Harborview Injury Prevention and Research Center and Seattle Children’s Hospital at the annual “Feria de Salud y Recursos Comunitarios” Tacoma Health Fair on June 3.
Information booths by HIPRC and Seattle Children’s covered two key topics: injury prevention and concussions related to sports. The fair, which was organized in conjunction with a youth soccer tournament, offered an ideal opportunity to reach families.
Both booths tie in to a project by HIPRC associate faculty member Nathalia Jimenez, M.D., MPH, who led the injury prevention booth. Her project, funded by a K-23 NICHD grant and a grant from the Washington State Department of Health-Traumatic Brain Injury Council, is focused on improving outcomes for Latino children with traumatic brain injury. Over the past three years, the project has studied rehabilitation services, barriers, facilitators and interventions among Latino families of children with traumatic brain injuries. Now beginning the fourth year of the five-year project, Jimenez said that she is partnering with Community Latino leaders to extend her educational efforts to prevention- outreach.
“During our interactions with Latino parents and youth during the fair, it was apparent that very few of the prevention campaigns reach the Latino community,” she said.
At the injury prevention booth, giveaways included information packets in English and/or Spanish that covered the use of bike helmets, seat belts and booster seats as well as safety on playgrounds, at home and in pools. For kids, the booth offered Washington State Booster Seat Campaign coloring books and crayons.
Attending kids could also win a bike light by answering two safety questions after playing the online game “Keep Spriggy Safe” by Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. The research team used these opportunities to talk with them about safety.
The concussion booth was also supported by HIPRC concussion researchers Emily Kroshus, M.D., ScD, MPH, and Sara Chrisman, M.D., MPH, as part of a two-year grant from the Seattle Children’s Center for Diversity and Health Equity.
The fair also held raffles of health-related and family-friendly items. Through Jimenez’s grant, the booths donated six bike helmets, one convertible car seat, one booster seat and one stair gate for home baby-proofing for the raffle.
This is the first year Seattle Children’s and HIPRC participated in the fair. Other organizations included Sea Mar Community Health Centers, Casa Latina, the Mexican Consulate, Pierce County Library, Molina Healthcare, Apple Health and a dental truck sponsored by the Mexican Consulate. The fair is supported by the Mexican Consulate and organized by Tony Echaniz, a Latino community leader and Vice-president of the South Tacoma United Youth Soccer Club.