NHMA/NHTSA Partnership

For the past six years, the National Highway and Traffice Safety Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation (NHTSA) and NHMA have partnered to address the role of traffic safety and Hispanic health. The challenge is critical for the nation's growing 35.3 million Hispanic population as Hispanics are over-represented in the number of traffic related fatalities and injuries when compared with the general population. Motor vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for Hispanics through the age of 24, and the second leading cause of death for Hispanics between the ages of 25-44. Not only do Hispanics have a significantly higher risk of dying in a car crash than non-Hispanic whites; they are also less likely to wear seat belts. Recent studies showed that the seat belt use rate for Hispanics is 63 percent, compared to the 71 percent rate for all Americans. For the young, the data is especially grim. A recent study by Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy and the Insurance Institute for Highway and Auto Safety showed that per mile traveled, Hispanic male teenagers are nearly twice as likely to die in a motor vehicle crash as male teens that are white.

NHMA has assisted in the formation of a speakers bureau of member Hispanic physicians available to NHTSA, the Regional offices of NHTSA, and other national organizations. NHMA and NHTSA have also participated in conferences with key national Hispanic organizations in order to develop culturally appropriate safety messages for Hispanic communities. Some of the National Hispanic Organizations we have participated with include the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the National Council of La Raza, the National Chicano Studies Association, and the National Latin American Medical Students Association. While a former Harvard Health Policy Fellow, Dr. Jose Santana received a NHMA sponsored Fellowship to visit NHTSA during the first year of the agreement. In this capacity, he provided review and input on the development of Hispanic materials at NHTSA headquarters in Washington, DC.

Another major focus of NHMA has been the development of Media Training Seminars utilizing professional consultants, who are convened across the country and at the NHMA Annual Conference in Washington, DC. At these sessions, NHMA physician trainees were videotaped and interviewed and coached on how to address the importance of traffic safety issues in Hispanic communities. In conjunction with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, NHMA has developed a Media Hispanic Health Breakfast Series in which media executives were invited to meet NHMA and discuss projects for the future. NHMA convened meetings starting in 2000 in Los Angeles, Texas, New York, Chicago, and Sacramento and met with NBC, ABC, CBS, Telemundo, Univision, Fox, and local English and Spanish newspapers.

On Monday, May 21, 2001 at the California Hospital Medical Center, NHTSA, the NHMA and their partners launched a nationwide campaign to promote the use of seat belts in Los Angeles, home of the largest Hispanic community in the country."Cuida tu vida. Ponte el cinturón" or "Take Care of Your Life. Buckle Up" is the core message of the campaign that has also gathered the support of the Hispanic American Police Command Officers Association (HAPCOA) and the corporate partnership of Pep Boys.

In 2002, NHMA participated in the NHTSA national campaign "If You Drink, You Lose" to call attention to the catastrophic results of drinking and driving and to provide public health messages, especially to the Hispanic community. For 2005 we supported the "Impaired Driving Campaign" and developed an Alcohol Screening Kit in Spanish for our speakers bureau and partner organizations.