Evaluation Measures for Rural Unintentional Injury Prevention Programs
Rural communities addressing unintentional injuries are using a range of process, outcome, and impact evaluation measures that are tailored to their specific programs and injury topics. Additional information on evaluation strategies and measures is included in the Rural Community Health Toolkit.
Sample Evaluation Measures by Domain
Evaluation measures will vary by the topics covered by the unintentional injury prevention program. Evaluations may look at a range of measures, from short-term outcomes like knowledge increased over baseline for education programs, to longer-term outcomes like decreases in the number of preventable injury deaths over baseline.
Motor vehicle safety
- Number of car seats distributed
- Number of car seat inspections conducted
- Number of pedestrian injuries and fatalities
- Number of traffic injuries and fatalities
- Number of citations for safety violations (for example, lack of seat belt use)
- Number of motor vehicle crashes in a community
Poisoning
- Pre/post knowledge of poison risks in the home
- Number of calls from rural county to state poison control center
- Percent of children with elevated blood lead levels
- Accidental drug overdose and drug overdose death rate
Fall prevention
- Number of patients screened for fall risk
- Number of fall risk assessments conducted in participants' homes
- Number of exercise classes delivered
- Number of falls prevention home modifications delivered
- Rate of participants or patients who fell in the six months prior to implementation and six months after program implementation
- Rate of emergency department visits or hospitalizations due to falls
Drowning
- Number of drowning education materials delivered
- Number of CPR trainings delivered
- Number of swimming classes conducted
- Pre/post knowledge of drowning risks
- Number of installations of drowning prevention equipment such as pool fencing
- Rate of drowning
Fires and burn
- Number of safety inspections conducted
- Number of carbon monoxide detectors installed
- Number of firefighters trained in specific prevention tactics
- Number of community education sessions delivered
- Number of emergency department visits or hospitalizations due to burns
- Total value of property loss due to fire
Workplace injuries
- Number of employees trained in safety procedures
- Number of protective equipment pieces distributed
- Number of education sessions delivered
- Rate of workplace injuries over baseline
Resources to Learn More
Evaluation
and Enhancement of Community Outreach Programs
Website
Resources for developing and evaluating safe driving programs for teens, including a guidebook and
evaluation YouTube channel. Helps organizations identify the community's most important traffic safety
concerns, take necessary steps to implement appropriate programs, and assess the impact of these programs
to guide future planning.
Organization(s): Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute, Pennsylvania Department of
Transportation
Outcomes: A
Guide for Measuring Success
Document
Discusses the importance of outcome measures to help community risk reduction (CRR) programs evaluate the
effectiveness of their initiatives. Offers examples of evaluative measures for integrating in CRR
programs to determine impact.
Author(s): Blackley, F.
Organization(s): Vision 20/20 Project, Center for Public Safety Excellence
Date: 12/2018
Preventing
Falls in Hospitals: How Do You Measure Fall Rates and Fall Prevention Practices?
Website
Provides considerations for measuring fall and fall-related injury rates and fall prevention practices in
hospital settings. Discusses how to analyze fall data to support quality improvement efforts.
Organization(s): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality