In 2004, a group of senior nursing students collaborated with a rural high school to coordinate a mock fatality crash for senior students. The program used four high school students as victims. After the “crash scene”, state troopers, young college students, and the coroner discussed the impact of drinking and driving on their lives. Students were given commitment cards to give to a significant other, promising they would not drink and drive.

The University IRB and parents gave approval to conduct a follow-up study six months after the presentation to deterine the impact the presentation event had made on the students. The majority of the students were 18 years old, and forty percent of them were African American. Seventeen of the twenty-five students (67%) responded that the mock fatality crash was the most important of the various interventions presented. Student comments indicated a great need to make the consequences of this risky behavior as real as possible.

Nurse educators and nursing students identify patients who have substance abuse problems, and the potential for injury and violence. Collaboration with community partners can help impact persons with at-risk behaviors and thus potentially impact the health of the nation. Although this study involved a limited convenience sample, there is need for additional research on interventions to prevent drinking and driving to promote evidenced based practice.

See more of Poster Presentations II
See more of The 17th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice (19-22 July 2006)