With the support of a 2010 “Quality of Life” award grant from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, ThinkFirst Navajo was recently able to expand and spread its message of injury prevention to about 1900 students in 9 schools over the Navajo Nation in Arizona and New Mexico.
ThinkFirst Navajo, founded in 2005 by retired neurosurgeon Robert M. Crowell, is a program of Eve’s Fund for Native American Health Initiatives. Eve’s Fund promotes hope and wellness by sponsoring programs in literacy, injury prevention, mental health and education for young Native Americans.
ThinkFirst Navajo is a chapter of the ThinkFirst National Injury Prevention Program, a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing fatal and disabling injuries In the United States, 500,000 people a year sustain a brain or spinal cord injury and most of these injuries are preventable! Motor vehicle crashes, violence, falls, sports and recreation cause most of these injuries. The principal approach of ThinkFirst is education, to encourage children and youth and those who care about them to be active and safe. ThinkFirst advocates for proven injury prevention strategies appropriate for each age group of young people. The overall basic message however is: “think first and use your mind to protect your body.”
The rate of preventable injuries among Native Americans is alarming. Among Navajo people alone, the death rate from motor vehicle crashes is more than three times the national average. Many are alcohol related or due to lack of seat belt usage. Injury is the leading cause of death and disability among children and young adults.
The core of ThinkFirst Navajo’s education and prevention strategies is in its VIP program. VIPs are Voices for Injury Prevention – disabled individuals who talk to young people about their own injuries and how to prevent them. In five years, Navajo VIPs have visited more than 30 schools and addressed more than 10,000 students. This year however, grant support from the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation has enabled Eve’s Fund/ThinkFirst Navajo to expand and strengthen its VIP presentations.
- Our speakers are better prepared to cover a wide range of injuries, including vehicle crashes, domestic violence, falls, and sports.
- Pop-up banners with the ThinkFirst Navajo logo catch the eye. A new PA system projects even soft voices to the back of the gym. New age-appropriate videos use animation to demonstrate methods of injury prevention while maintaining student attention.
- The new combination of presenters Cecelia Fred and Echohawk Lefthand is especially effective. Cecelia is a beautiful 53 year-old mother of two who was paralyzed at age six by an accidental gunshot wound. Echo is a 30 year-old former Marine and engineer, who has been a health promotion educator for the past few years. He serves in an advisory capacity as the Director of ThinkFirst Navajo.
- In the school gyms, the two speakers alternate. For example, Cecelia describes her injury and mechanisms of spinal injury, then Echo presents head injuries and shows how to use a helmet. Together, they are effective in reinforcing the prevention message of “thinking first.”
- They effectively hold kids’ attention with interactive methods, for example a show of hands regarding seat-belt use, and a young healthy student challenged by transfer from wheel chair to standard chair (see photo).
- Finally, as a follow up to this Tour, we are conducting a study of the impact of VIP presentations on knowledge of injury prevention in student audiences. Students have completed questionnaires before and after VIP presentations. The data are being analyzed to complete the study.
For more information on Eve’s Fund/ThinkFirst Navajo and ways in which you can help, please visit our website and click on Programs at https://evecrowellsfund.org or contact:
Dr. Robert Crowell at: bobcrowell@evecrowellsfund.org and/or Barbara Crowell Roy at:
barbaracrowellroy@evecrowellsfund.org.
Eve’s Fund for Native American Health Initiatives and the communities we serve are extremely grateful to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation for their commitment to preventing and curing spinal cord injuries and for improving the quality of life for people living with paralysis.
Barbara Crowell Roy
Eve’s mom & Secretary, Eve’s Fund
