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Using Behavioral Science and Community Input to Strengthen Rear-facing Car Seat Messaging

Ann L. Edwards, MS

Research Assistant

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Kelli J. England, PhD, CPST, LCP

Professor & Division Director

Funding provided by:

EVMS 2023 1

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Overview

  • Our team
  • Rear-facing Intervention Development
  • Video Production
  • The final product
  • Online Intervention Assets
  • Video Dissemination
  • Next steps

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Who we are

  • Car Safety Now (www.carsafetynow.org) is a program of the Community Health and Research (CHR) Division, Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk, Virginia, USA.

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    • Promote occupant protection
    • Rooted in behavioral science and designed with input from professionals, parents, and teens
    • Free materials (many available in Spanish)

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Our team

Dr. Kelli England

  • is a Clinical Psychologist and Professor of Pediatrics at ODU with expertise are injury prevention, health behavior theory, and risk communication. She has training and experience designing, implementing, and evaluating health-promotion programs and has received over 40 research grants. She is a Nationally Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician.�

Ann Lassiter Edwards M.S.

  • Is currently a research assistant with the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Community Health & Research at ODU. She has a Master’s Degree in Applied Experimental Psychology from Old Dominion University. Her research background is in cultural decision making, community psychology, health psychology, health promotion, risk communication, law enforcement and occupant protection.

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Why develop a rear-facing intervention?

  • Parents often misinformed and unengaged
  • Many parents do not realize their child is at great risk and are misinformed about guidelines for use (Durbin et al., 2018; Will, 2005).
  • Counter the norms
  • Only 18% of 1 - 3-year-olds are rear-faced (Boyle, 2023)

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Rear-facing intervention Development

  • Parent Focus group (N=23) and Surveys (N = 28)
    • Who do parents want to hear from?
    • Where do they want to see the message?
    • What part of the message stands out?
    • Reasons for transitioning early?
    • AAP Guidelines v Law

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  • Tone
  • Format

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Video Production

  • The story and working with production team�
  • The hook
    • Brief and memorable�
  • What and who are persuasive from our research and persuasion literature
    • Pediatricians
    • Sled test
    • Catcher’s mitt analogy
    • Diversity representation�
  • Call to action

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Our video

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Online Intervention Assets

www.carsafetynow.org

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www.carsafetynow.org

    • Interactive Fit Test for seat belts and car seats
    • Free video/poster/toolkit download
    • Spanish and English
    • Multiple videos (varying lengths)
    • Information, resource toolkits, posters

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VHS 2025 10

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Video Dissemination

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  • Online – social media platforms
  • Through established partnerships
  • Through a 6 week paid marketing in local media market– total impressions 6.5M+
    • Social Media Influencers – 90K video views
    • Local parenting websites – 547K impressions
    • Pinterest – 64K reach
    • Outdoor advertising – Digital Billboards – 4M impressions
    • TV/streaming service – 332K reach

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Next Steps

  • Empirical support for Intervention

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    • Focus groups
    • Survey study using a pretest-posttest control group design

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Thank you

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Contact information:

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Kelli England englankj@odu.edu

Ann Edwards edwardal@odu.edu