RESULTS OF THE PILOT STUDY ON THE SAFE FALL SAFE SCHOOLS© (SFSS) FALL PREVENTION PROGRAM FOR FORWARD FALL EDUCATION

Abstract

Introduction and Hypotheses: Ac-cording to the World Health Organi-zation (WHO), accidental injuries—particularly those resulting from falls—represent the second leading cause of mortality among children worldwide. The present study aimed to examine the effectiveness of the Safe Fall Safe Schools (SFSS) fall-prevention program in improving forward fall techniques. We hypothesized that participation in the SFSS program would significantly increase the proportion of correct motor responses during forward falls. Specifically, we expected significant pre–post improvements in the motor responses of the head, arms, trunk, and hips. Furthermore, we hypothesized significant differences based on sex, as well as between groups categorized by level of sports participation.
Materials and Methods: Participants were second-grade students (n = 38, age = 7.74 ± 0.50 years) from the Cserepka School in Pécs, Hungary. Before the pre-test, demographic and anthropometric data (age, sex, body height, body weight, sports participation, and sport type) were recorded for each participant. The pre-test assessed motor responses during a forward fall, documented via video recording and structured observation sheets for four body regions (head, arms, trunk, hips), with responses classified as correct or incorrect. The SFSS training protocol was implemented over five weeks, consisting of two 10-minute sessions per week during the warm-up phase of PE classes. At the conclusion of the program, an identical post-test was administered. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. The study was approved by the Scientific and Research Ethics Committee (approval number BM/2347-1/2024).
Results: For the total sample, significant improvements were observed in the arms (p<0.001), hips (p=0.007), and trunk (p=0.021). Among boys, significant improvements were found in the head (p=0.031), arms (p=0.021), trunk (p=0.003), and hips (p<0.001), whereas among girls significant improvement was observed only in the arms (p=0.008). Competitive athletes achieved significantly better post-test scores than recreational and non-athletes in the head (p =0.016), arms (p=0.012), and hips (p=0.012). Conclusions: The SFSS preventive movement program can be effectively integrated into school physical education classes to improve motor responses to unexpected falls, thereby enhancing children’s ability to land safely.