Shen Jiabin, Pang Shulan, Schwebel David C
Department of Psychology, University of Alabama at Birmingham.
School of Public Health, North China University of Science and Technology.
Health Psychol. 2016 May;35(5):454-64. doi: 10.1037/hea0000273. Epub 2015 Nov 2.
Dog-bite injuries pose significant threat to children globally. School-age children are especially at risk because of their insufficient safety knowledge and cognitively immature tendency toward low perceived vulnerability to bites, and this risk is elevated further for school-age children living in rural China due to the large number of stray dogs, all potential rabies carriers, present in their communities.
This randomized controlled trial evaluated whether viewing an educational video of testimonials would change safety knowledge, perceived vulnerability, and simulated behaviors with dogs among a sample of 280 third and fourth graders living in rural China. Participants were randomly assigned to view either an educational video of testimonials on dog-bite prevention (treatment) or an educational video of testimonials on drowning prevention (comparison). Safety knowledge, perceived vulnerability to dog bites, and simulated behavior with dogs using a dollhouse model were assessed both before and after exposure to the video of testimonials.
Children who watched the educational video of testimonials on dog-bite prevention had increased safety knowledge, higher perceived vulnerability, and less risky simulated behaviors with dogs compared with the comparison group. Mediation analysis revealed that the intervention successfully changed children's simulated behaviors with dogs through greater safety knowledge and increased perceived vulnerability.
Results suggest the incorporation of testimonials into injury prevention programs has potential for broad global dissemination. The fact that both increased knowledge and heightened perceived vulnerability mediated changes in simulated behavior suggests the dual roles of knowledge and appraisal on children's injury-risk behavior.
犬咬伤对全球儿童构成重大威胁。学龄儿童尤其面临风险，因为他们安全知识不足，且在认知上倾向于认为自己不易被咬伤，而对于生活在中国农村的学龄儿童来说，这种风险进一步升高，因为他们所在社区有大量流浪狗，而这些流浪狗都是潜在的狂犬病携带者。
这项随机对照试验评估了观看一段有推荐语的教育视频是否会改变280名生活在中国农村的三、四年级学生的安全知识、对自身易受伤害的认知以及与狗相处时的模拟行为。参与者被随机分配观看一段关于预防犬咬伤的有推荐语的教育视频（治疗组）或一段关于预防溺水的有推荐语的教育视频（对照组）。在观看有推荐语的视频前后，对安全知识、对犬咬伤的易感性认知以及使用玩偶屋模型与狗相处时的模拟行为进行了评估。
与对照组相比，观看了关于预防犬咬伤的有推荐语的教育视频的儿童，其安全知识有所增加，对自身易受伤害的认知更高，与狗相处时的模拟行为风险更低。中介分析表明，该干预措施通过增加安全知识和提高对自身易受伤害的认知，成功改变了儿童与狗相处时的模拟行为。
结果表明，将推荐语纳入伤害预防项目具有在全球广泛传播的潜力。知识增加和对自身易受伤害的认知增强都介导了模拟行为的变化，这一事实表明了知识和评估在儿童伤害风险行为中的双重作用。
