The Community Guide in Action

Funding Programs to Prevent Motor Vehicle Occupant Injuries Among Native Americans

CDC’s Injury Center used findings from the Community Guide to develop a Request for Proposal (RFP) targeting Native American communities. Applicants were invited to submit a proposal that addressed any cause of motor vehicle-related injuries, provided it used an intervention that was strongly recommended by the Task Force on Community Preventive Services. In this way, CDC’s Injury Center leveraged a relatively small funding budget to achieve its mission of saving lives and reducing the number and severity of injuries. In the fall of 2004, CDC’s Injury Center awarded funds to four Native American tribes to design, implement, and evaluate effective injury prevention programs selected from the Community Guide.

The San Carlos Apache Tribal Police Department in Arizona used its award to support a full-time program coordinator to work on community-based interventions to reduce alcohol-impaired driving and increase occupant restraint use among tribal members. During 2006, almost 4000 vehicles were stopped in 12 DUI sobriety checkpoints on reservation roads. Media coverage about the checkpoints included local newspaper ads, radio programs, TV, and local community events. Since the program started, total DUI arrests increased 33% and motor vehicle crashes decreased 27%. In 2007, the San Carlos Tribal Council passed a primary safety belt law, and strengthened their impaired driving law to 0.08% blood alcohol concentration (BAC).  

The White Mountain Apache Tribal Police Department in Arizona funds a full-time program coordinator to focus on decreasing alcohol-impaired driving through the use of DUI sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols, and a media campaign. In addition, the program coordinator is collecting data for process and outcome evaluation.

The Tohono O’odham Nation, also in Arizona, passed a primary safety belt law and strengthened their impaired driving law to 0.08% BAC. Their program aims to increase occupant restraint use on the Reservation with a comprehensive media campaign and work with Tribal Police to enforce the new law. From 2005 to 2006, driver seatbelt use increased 43%; passenger seatbelt use increased 64%; and overall seatbelt use increased 47%. 

The Ho-Chunk Nation Health Department in Wisconsin funds a full-time program coordinator to focus on increasing the use of seat belts, child safety seats, and booster seats within the tribe. By partnering with local County police departments and implementing a comprehensive media campaign, the Ho-Chunk Nation has seen driver safety belt use increase from 50% to 59% and passenger safety belt use increase from 32% to 53% from 2005 to 2006.