March 2020
Quarterly Newsletter
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Upcoming Webinars
The Center for Health and Safety Culture: Who We Are and How We Support Efforts to Improve Health and Safety
Wednesday, March 18, 2020 | 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm (MDT)
This webinar will introduce the Center for Health and Safety Culture, our diverse staff, the Positive Culture Framework for improving health and safety, and the multitude of services we offer to support communities and organizations in their efforts to transform culture. At the Center, we understand the challenges of cultural transformation, and we use the latest science to address complex social issues to improve health and safety in a sustainable way. Learn about our logic model, framework, and what we can do to help your organization and community reach their health and safety goals.
Together for Life Utah: Reducing Disparities Between Urban and Rural Seat Belt Use Rates
Wednesday, April 22, 2020 | 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm (MDT)
In 2013, the Highway Safety Office of the Utah Department of Public Safety engaged the Center for Health and Safety Culture in a multi-year pilot project to reduce the significant disparities in seat belt use rates between Utah’s urban areas (with observed seat belt use rates at about 85%) and rural areas (with observed seat belt use rates as low as 55%). In this webinar, learn how the Together for Life Project promoted seat belt use in 7 rural counties by bolstering family rules, workplace rules, and bystander engagement (i.e., getting individuals to ask others to wear a seat belt) to increase both self-reported and observed seat belt use.
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Promoting Seat Belt Use in Rural Utah
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Over the past seven years, we have partnered with the Highway Safety Office at the Utah Department of Public Safety on a research project that focused on improving seat belt use rates in seven rural Utah counties. The project was prompted by the significant differences in seat belt use rates among urban and rural counties. At the time, observed seat belt use rates in urban areas were measured at 85%, whereas in rural counties, the observed seat belt use rates were as low as 55%.
We used the Positive Culture Framework, our process for improving health and safety, to organize our efforts. We began by working with state leaders to set and plan the project’s goals. The project was titled “Together for Life” and focused on growing family rules, workplace rules, and bystander engagement to increase seat belt use.
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Next, we assessed the culture of the seven participating counties by working with county public health coordinators to implement surveys. The self-reported surveys measured the beliefs and behaviors of adults, students, law enforcement officers, and key leaders. The results revealed important insights about seat belt use including that most people agreed it was important to protect themselves by always wearing a seat belt, and most people wanted people they care about to always wear a seat belt (even respondents who rarely or never wore a seat belt themselves). The results highlighted the positive cultures that were present in the counties and emphasized areas that had room to grow. The results were used to inform the development of resources and media that promoted seat belt use.
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Toolkits were created for each participating county and provided to the public health coordinators. The toolkits included statistical reports and key findings reports with local data, speaking points, press releases, activity decision-making worksheets, and social media posts for each level of the social ecology (community, adults, law enforcement, key leaders and workplaces, and schools and students). They also included booklets for law enforcement leaders, key leaders, workplaces, and schools to increase awareness and encourage seat belt use in their agency, community, workplace, or school.
Alongside the toolkits, media was also developed to promote “Together for Life” including website banners and badges, social media graphics, videos, radio ads, posters, newspaper ads, engagement cards, and PowerPoint templates. The county coordinators helped distribute the media throughout communities and worked with local coalitions, organizations, and leaders to implement it. A website (
www.togetherforlifeutah.org
) was created as a platform for the public to learn more about the project, access and download the media, and find their local coordinator.
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Ongoing guidance and training played important roles in the project after the toolkits and media were implemented. County coordinators and state leaders participated in a training to learn about the Positive Culture Framework and review the toolkits and resources. A few years later, follow-up trainings occurred in each community with local coalitions. The public health coordinators were supported by a Center guide through monthly calls and ongoing email.
In 2019, a second set of observational studies and self-reported surveys were implemented in the seven counties to study changes in seat belt use beliefs and behaviors in adults, students, law enforcement, and key leaders. The survey results indicated that both self-reported and observed seat belt use increased in the seven rural counties. These changes in behaviors were also accompanied by changes in beliefs, which were strongly correlated with seat belt use. There were also increases in bystander engagement behaviors and associated beliefs. From 2012 to 2019, the observed seat belt use increased by an average of 20% (unweighted) in the seven counties compared to 7% in urban counties. Many of the behaviors and beliefs that had changed over the years were addressed in the media developed and placed for the Together for Life project.
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Spotlight: Jubaer Ahmed, M.S.
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The Center’s Ph.D. student,
Jubaer Ahmed, M.S
, was one of seven finalists in Montana State University’s Norm Asbjornson College of Engineering’s “Three Minute Thesis” competition. The competition requires graduate students to present how their research impacts the average person using only one presentation slide in 180 seconds. Jubaer presented on the connection between emotional intelligence and driving behaviors, a topic that builds on his research that addresses risky driving behaviors among different populations from the perspective of emotional intelligence.
Jubaer holds his M.S. in Logistics, Trade, and Transportation from the University of Southern Mississippi and a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology. Jubaer previously worked for Chevron as a Health and Safety Specialist where he was responsible for ensuring safe work practices for a large workforce. Jubaer is passionate about safety research that can save lives from risk. His work at the Center focuses primarily on traffic safety.
Congratulations, Jubaer!
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2020 Positive Culture Framework Training
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To ensure the health and safety of our attendees and staff, we are waiting to choose a date for our 2020 Positive Culture Framework Training. We are anticipating the training to be this upcoming fall in Las Vegas, Nevada. We plan to move forward in scheduling the training dates when we can guarantee that traveling and gathering in a group is safe.
Our annual 2.5-day training will provide a foundation for efforts to improve health and safety that addresses a wide variety of complex social issues. Training attendees will:
- Develop and refine skills in three critical areas: leadership, communication, and the integration of effective strategies
- Learn how culture influences behavior and how to cultivate cultural transformation
- Gain specific next steps for transforming culture in your community or organization
Our training is designed for anyone working to improve health and safety including (but not limited to) substance misuse professionals, prevention specialists, violence prevention advocates, coalition members, traffic safety professionals, educators, government personnel, and law enforcement officers.
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Jay Otto, M.S.
, presented a workshop in Mercer Island, WA on three lessons to initiate a strategic planning process.
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Dr. Kari Finley and
Jay Otto hosted a webinar in February on, “Applying Traffic Safety Culture – Sharing Survey Data about the Culture of Impaired Driving in Park Rapids, Minnesota.” The recording can be found
here
.
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Katie Dively, M.S., CHES
,
presented on the Positive Culture Framework in Indianapolis, IN. Her 70-minute session included an overview of the framework.
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Kelly Green, M.P.A., will present at the Montana Association of County Road Supervisors (MACRS) Conference in Great Falls, MT on April 1, 2020. Her presentation is titled, “Safety Culture in the Rural Environment.”
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Annmarie McMahill
and
Katie Dively
are planning to attend an upcoming Appreciate Inquiry Facilitator Training. Appreciative Inquiry is a collaborative, strengths-based approach to organizational development. It helps to bring change by focusing on the positive aspects of an organization rather than focusing on what is going wrong.
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Katie Dively
and
Kari Finley
are planning to attend the European Conference on Positive Psychology in Reykjavik, Iceland in June. The conference presents the current research in the field of positive psychology. The conference provides a unique opportunity for practitioners and researchers to learn more about the field of positive psychology.
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The Center staff are collectively reading Martin Seligman's book, "Flourish: A Visionary New Understanding of Happiness and Well-being." After reading the book, we will take an online course titled, "Positive Psychology: Martin E. P. Seligman’s Visionary Science." The course, offered by the University of Pennsylvania's Positive Psychology Center and Master of Applied Positive Psychology program, will explore positive psychology and how it supports well-being at individual, community, and global levels.
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The Center for Health and Safety Culture is an interdisciplinary center serving communities and organizations through research, training, and support services to cultivate healthy and safe cultures. We are dedicated to applying research to develop sustainable solutions to complex social problems. Our research focuses on understanding how culture impacts behavior – especially behavior associated with health and safety. Our services include:
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RESEARCH
- Conducting, Exchanging, and Applying Research
- Cultural Assessments, Surveys, and Evaluation
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TRAINING
Online
Onsite
- Positive Culture Framework
- Communication Skills – Social Norms Marketing
- Leadership Skills
- Integration Skills
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