Chicken Is For The Birds: Changing The Deadly Driving Behaviors Of Young Qatari Men.

Qatar Research Grand Challenges Areas: 1. Integrated health management; cultivate healthy behaviors through public health, safety... campaigns. 2. Road Safety: Mitigate Accidents. Introduction Motor vehicle collisions (MVC) in Qatar are at epidemic rates and expected to continue to rise to 220,000 per year by 2015 (ElGhanem, 2012). The fatalities and economic costs associated with traffic accidents are high in Qatar, with one out of eight deaths attributed to MVCs according to some estimates (The Peninsula, 2013) and is as high as 18% according to others (MOI, 2012) and estimates of the economic impact to the GDP are about 2.73 billion USD (Nehlawi, 2013). While there are many causes of MVCs in Qatar, over half of the accidents involve drivers with little driving experience (ElGhanem, 2012). Because of societal constraints for young women, young drivers in Qatar tend to be mostly male. These young male drivers lack experience and may engage in risky behaviors such as texting, not wearing seat belts, speeding, playing games such as 'chicken,' and other thrill-seeking practices. Though few scientific studies have been undertaken, those that are released are covered widely in the local press, indicating this is a pressing issue for Qatar residents. Qatari male youth are much more likely to stunt drive as compared to expatriate youth (Doha News, 2012). The costs to families in Qatar are high, with young people's lives ending tragically or with them suffering debilitating injuries (ElGhanem, 2012). Objectives, Materials, Methods. Changing the driving attitudes and behaviors of young Qatari men are the objectives of our study. It uses a tailored message campaign developed from research on the target audience. We will conduct an in-depth formative research study with young Arab men, identifying their driving beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. Using the results from the formative research, we will plan and shoot a 7-10 minute persuasive documentary targeting their key beliefs, attitudes and behaviors. Such a tailored message is critical to success, as we must adapt it to the particular attitude structures of the audience for it to succeed. For example, we suspect this population is high on the trait 'sensation seeking'; if verified, then the message must be adapted to this trait to be likely to succeed. We will then screen the documentary to the target audience. We will conduct evaluation research to assess the film's influence on beliefs, attitudes and behavioral intentions in the target population. Results and Conclusions We anticipate being in the documentary shooting stage by the conference, thus will present the results of the formative research and the preliminary documentary. We have a UREP grant for funding. References Doha News (2012, June 19). Study: Young Qatari men more prone to risky driving. Retrieved from http://dohanews.co/study-young-qatari-men-more-prone-to-risky-driving/ ElGhanem, N. (2012, May 3). Qatar has world's highest rate of traffic fatalities study reports. Al-Shorfa.com. Retrieved from http://al-shorfa.com/en_GB/articles/meii/features/main/2012/03/05/feature-02 Nehlawi, M. (2013, April 17). The price of Qatar's high road accidents. The Edge. Retrieved from http://www.theedge.me/the-price-of-qatars-high-road-accidents/ West, B. & Naumann, R. (2011). Motor vehicle related deaths United States, 2003-2007. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6001a10.htm