Newswise — A 1999 report by the Consumer Product Safety Commission revealed that 7,700 head injuries could be prevented every year if skiers and snowboarders wore helmets on the slopes. That prompted physicians and nurses at the University of Vermont and the Vermont Children's Hospital at Fletcher Allen Health Care to create the Vermont Snow Sports Research Team, which in 2002 initiated a research program to increase voluntary ski helmet use among children to prevent serious head injuries. Last week, the team announced the receipt of additional funding from the Fletcher Allen Community Health Foundation to expand and continue their helmet use research.
"While it won't prevent all injuries, a helmet should absolutely be part of every skier's and snowboarder's routine gear," said Dr. Robert Williams, leader of the research team, an associate professor of anesthesiology at the University of Vermont College of Medicine and a pediatric anesthesiologist/critical care specialist. "Our goal is to get every skier and snowboarder to wear a helmet every time they hit the slopes."
Much of the work to date has been done at Smugglers' Notch Resort in Jeffersonville, Vt. The ski areas at Bolton and Bromley, Vt., were also used to gather data. The grant will allow the team to collaborate with the Vermont Ski Areas Association (VSAA) with the goal of expanding the program to numerous Vermont ski resorts this upcoming ski season.
To date, the project has been very successful, with over 80 percent of children now in helmets at Smugglers' Notch, up from 60 percent during the 2002 to 2003 season. Helmet use for adults has also shown large increases, with almost 60 percent of adult skiers and riders now using helmets, up from 30percent during the 2002 to 2003 season. The study is based on more than 30,000 observations of skiers and riders over the last four winters.
"We will be able to reach tens of thousands of additional skiers and snowboarders, many of whom come to Vermont's ski resorts from other places," Williams said. "This means that we will be able to spread our message of the importance of helmets far beyond the borders of our state."
The team, which has developed a poster, stickers and a brochure designed to appeal to young skiers and boarders that promote helmet use, adopted "Always Ride PHAT" as the byline for its multi-year campaign. PHAT is an acronym for "Protect your Head on All Terrain" and "Protect your Head at All Times."
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