title: Impact of an injury prevention program on teenagers' knowledge and attitudes: results of the Pense Bem-Caxias do Sul Project.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Trauma is the leading cause of mortality and morbidity in children, young people, and working-age adults. Because of the high incidence of intentional and unintentional injuries in young people, it is necessary to implement injury-prevention programs and measure the efficacy of these initiatives. The authors evaluated the effectiveness of an injury-prevention program in high school students in a city in southern Brazil.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a randomized controlled study, 1049 high school students were divided into a control group and intervention group. The study was conducted in the following 3 stages: a questionnaire was applied 1 week before the educational intervention (P0), shortly after the intervention (P1), and 5 months later (P3). In the control group, a questionnaire based on the Pense Bem Project was applied at the 3 time stages, without any intervention between the stages.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The postintervention analysis evidenced a slight change in knowledge about unintentional spinal cord and brain injuries. Regarding attitudes, the only significant improvement after the intervention lecture was in the use of helmets, which remained high 5 months later. A substantial number of students only partially agreed with using safety behaviors. The only significant postintervention change was the major agreement to check swimming pool depth before entering the water (P0 89% and P1 97.8%, p < 0.001; P2 92.8%, p = 0.005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  An educational intervention based on a single lecture improved students' knowledge of traumatic brain and spinal cord injuries, but this type of intervention did not modify most attitudes toward injury prevention. Clinical trial registration no.: U1111-1121-0192.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, University of Caxias do Sul, Brazil. asdrubalmd@gmail.com
authors.forename: Asdrubal
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Falavigna
authors.forename: Alisson Roberto
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Teles
authors.forename: Maíra Cristina
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Velho
authors.forename: Gregory Saraiva
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Medeiros
authors.forename: Carolina Travi
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Canabarro
authors.forename: Gustavo Lisbôa
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: de Braga
authors.forename: Daniel Ongaratto
authors.initials: DO
authors.lastname: Barazzetti
authors.forename: Viviane Maria
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Vedana
authors.forename: Fabrício Diniz
authors.initials: FD
authors.lastname: Kleber
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000523:psychology; D001296:Audiovisual Aids; D001336:Automobiles; D001642:Bicycling / Q000293:injuries; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D004521:Educational Measurement; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009049:Motorcycles; D012861:Skating / Q000293:injuries; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*