American Red Cross Study Suggests Kids Could Use More Disaster Training

Initial results from multi-year research show disaster training and awareness stop after fifth grade

WASHINGTON, Wednesday, September 29, 2004 — Preliminary results from an American Red Cross study suggest that students show no increase in disaster knowledge after the fifth grade. Researchers found that while kindergarteners through fifth graders showed an increase in disaster knowledge every year until the fifth grade, after the fifth grade, disaster knowledge actually appeared to decrease as did the students’ overall ability to react to disaster situations.

The findings come from The School Safety Initiative (SSI), an AT&T Wireless-sponsored pilot evaluating and measuring program delivery, components and learning outcomes in the areas of prevention, preparedness and response in the school environment. SSI serves as the "prototype" for the organization’s Together We Prepare-Schools program which helps schools prevent, prepare for and respond to violent incidents, natural disasters and other emergencies.

Launched in October 2002, the Red Cross SSI study analyzes data from elementary, middle and high school sites in eight cities.¹ More than 10,000 students in kindergarten through twelfth grade, their teachers and school staff participated in the first phase of the multi-year study. Their knowledge, behavior and attitudes around first aid, safety, disaster knowledge and preparedness along with leadership were surveyed. Methods of data collection in this phase included written surveys, focus groups and one-on-one interviews. Participants were from rural, suburban and urban areas and of various ethnicities and socio-economic status.

"Creating an evaluation tool like the School Safety Initiative is a real coup for the American Red Cross. It helps develop new ways and refine current practices in the area of school preparedness," said Scott Conner, Vice President of Preparedness. "And because evidence shows that deputizing kids in grassroots campaigns to motivate ‘safety’ habits like wearing seat belts increases awareness at school and in the home as well, the benefits go well beyond the schoolyard. Although the Red Cross has limited funding to support research, programs like the School Safety Initiative are integral to the Red Cross mission of keeping communities safe."

In addition to showing that disaster knowledge significantly declined after the fifth grade, the results also showed:

• Kindergarten through second grade students in urban schools had a significantly higher recall of the number to dial in an emergency (911). There was a significant leap in call 911 knowledge between kindergarten and first grade, indicating that this is probably the time when most students learn how to call 911.
• Age appropriate awareness of first aid, disaster response and general safety information was high among third through fifth graders.
• Knowledge of first aid and responding to disasters decreased slightly over time. First aid scores were consistently higher than disaster scores – illustrating that first aid training seems to still be taught in middle school and high school.

While the first phase of SSI looked at knowledge, behavior and attitudes, Phase two will evaluate the effect of Red Cross resources. Currently in schools around the country, Red Cross tools for educators support current school curriculum and build on the specific expertise of the organization—including disaster preparedness and training in first aid and CPR. Resources like Masters of Disaster,™ a kit of ready-to-go lesson plans, activities and demonstrations of hazard-related lifesaving information, are designed for flexibility to allow for integration into the core academic subjects. Supplements to Masters of Disaster include Facing Fear, developed after 9/11 to address a demand by educators and caregivers for materials to help children cope in uncertain times.

"Thanks to AT&T Wireless, the lessons learned with SSI are helping the Red Cross reach its goal of making us all safer where we live, learn and work," Conner said.

For more information on American Red Cross preparedness and safety resources for kids visit: http://www.redcross.org/services/disaster/0,1082,0_503_,00.html

Governed by volunteers and supported by community donations, the American Red Cross is a nationwide network of nearly 1,000 field units dedicated to saving lives and helping people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Led by 1.2 million volunteers and 30,000 employees, the Red Cross annually mobilizes relief to families affected by more than 67,000 disasters, trains almost 12 million people in lifesaving skills and exchanges more than a million emergency messages for U.S. military service personnel and their families. The Red Cross is the largest supplier of blood and blood products to more than 3,000 hospitals across the nation and also assists victims of international disasters and conflicts at locations worldwide.

¹ San Francisco, CA; Pennsauken, NJ; Akron, OH; Oklahoma City, Ok; St. Louis, MO; Omaha, NE; Farmington, MN; and Seattle, WA