Black medical college, insurer, unite in seat-belt drive
6/7/2002 News media contact: Linda Green · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UMNS)-A United Methodist-related medical school and an auto insurance company have teamed up to increase seat-belt use among African Americans.
Meharry Medical College in Nashville and State Farm Insurance Companies, headquartered in Bloomington, Ill., have formed an alliance to address what they say is a public health crisis.
Automobile crashes are the second leading cause of death among African Americans, according to Meharry and State Farm. The Meharry-State Farm Alliance will assist the school and insurance company in understanding why African Americans use seat belts less than other groups. The campaign will use the information it gathers to create culturally appropriate educational materials and public awareness efforts.
State Farm has pledged $10 million to support Meharry's medical and research initiatives on the issue during the next five years. The alliance also will use recommendations from a blue-ribbon panel formed in 2000 by former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater to address the gap in seat-belt use by African Americans.
The Meharry-State Farm Alliance will conduct community-based research into attitudes and behavior about the use of seat belts and child safety seats, and it will test methods for changing behavior. The findings will used in educational materials for community health centers, medical and dental offices, churches, schools, historically black colleges and universities, the media and community-based organizations.
Data from a study conducted by Meharry researchers show that use of seat belts and child safety seats among African Americans would save an estimated 1,300 lives, prevent 26,000 injuries and save $2.6 billion in costs to society annually, according to Jill Scoggins, spokesperson for the school.
Seat-belt use among African-American males 18 to 29 years old has remained "stagnant," while use among other groups has grown, according to the study. Scoggins said researchers also found that African-American youth are 50 percent less likely to buckle up than whites or Hispanic youth. Nationally, in 2000, more than 41,000 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes, and more than 3 million were injured.
"Over the course of its 125-year history, Meharry has established its leadership in identifying and addressing the disparities in morbidity and morality between African Americans and other underserved populations, and the population as a whole," said Meharry President John E. Maupin. "This new alliance furthers our work. Meharry is pleased to unite with State Farm in the drive to save lives."
"As a corporate citizen, we feel a strong responsibility to try to find an answer to this overwhelming problem," said Willie Brown, senior vice president of State Farm Insurance.
Meharry Medical College is the only historically black professional school related to the United Methodist Church, and is the nation's largest, private, independent African-American institution dedicated to educating health science professionals. Today, more than 15 percent of the African Americans who receive degrees in medicine and dentistry each year are Meharry graduates.
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