Safety In Seconds 2.0

Unmet Need
Injuries are the leading cause of death for children in the U.S., despite known effective prevention measures. Motor vehicle crashes cause the most deaths and are specifically related to children riding without car seats or with improperly used seats. Children are also at increased risk of death in housefires, largely due to the lack of working smoke alarms or fire escape planning. The growth in influence of technology integration into daily life is an opening for applications that address child safety in motor vehicles and at home. There is a need for a mobile app that communicates child safety to parents because they are key to protecting children too young to protect themselves. Such communication is most effective when it provides information that is specifically tailored to the individual app user.

Technology Overview
Safety In Seconds^TM is a smartphone app that provides a safety report tailored to the app user’s needs and based on the information that they provide about their child. Parents complete an assessment of their child passenger safety and fire safety behaviors, knowledge, and related beliefs. These assessments are written on a sixth-grade reading level to increase accessibility across a wide range of English-speaking audiences.  Based on a parent’s responses, the app uses a message library and template developed by the inventors to immediately send a personalized feedback report via the app, and directs parents to a web-based portal for more information. Parents who use this app and implement the recommended changes can improve their child’s safety in a motor vehicle crash and a home fire.

Stage of Development
The inventors have developed a platform for the application and completed a message library for families with young children. The app was created based on research at the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy and produced with support from the National Institutes of Health (HD069221) and Fundacion MAPFRE. It is currently publicly available and funding partners are needed to support ongoing monitoring and updating of content when there is new information on child passenger and home fire safety. The inventors also seek partnerships that will support expanded dissemination and development of additional content for many other child injury topics.

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