Unintentional Injury in the Rural Setting – the Development of an Instrument to Determine the Attitudes and Beliefs of Rural Community Members Towards Unintentional Injury

Rural Canada is home to at least 19 percent of Canadians. However, compared to people who live in urban areas, rural Canadians experience lower life expectancy and higher mortality rates and report less healthy behaviours. Unintentional injury is a particular problem. Health promotion initiatives in rural communities should be based on an understanding of the attitudes and beliefs of rural community members towards unintentional injury. The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to measure these attitudes and beliefs. The instrument was validated for use with this population by experts in various fields and pilot tested with a sample of the intended respondents. A survey is now available for use with the rural population on a larger scale to assist in the design of a rural specific health promotion initiative that reflects the attitudes of the people it is intended to support.M.Ed