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Accidental injury kills 1 million children annually worldwide. Ninety eight percent of these deaths occur in low-income countries, where injury is making significant gains on disease as the leading cause of death in young children.
In the United States and most other industrialized nations, accidental injury has surpassed disease to become the number one cause of death among children 14 and under.
No one device or solution is effective in preventing all types of accidental childhood injuries. Instead, Safe Kids combines several factors to create programs that reduce injuries: educating adults and children, creating safe environments, conducting research and advocating for effective laws.
Safe Kids employs a multifaceted, comprehensive approach called the six E's of injury prevention and control.
Education includes efforts to reach parents, caregivers, children, health care practitioners, policymakers and other target groups to change their knowledge, attitudes and behavior.
Examples include:
- Staffing displays at health and safety fairs
- Inspecting child safety seats
- Conducting bicycle rodeos
- Hosting safety seminars for parents and caregivers
- Participating in interviews with print and broadcast media
- Distributing brochures, posters, fact sheets, public service announcements, videos, magnets, stickers or other items
Engineering and environmental modification includes making changes to the physical environment and influencing the design, development and manufacturing of safety products.
Examples include:
- Creating bike lanes and paths to provide children with an alternative to riding on residential streets
- Ensuring that playground surfacing adequately protects children from falls-related injuries and deaths
- Improving sports venues, such as fields, rinks, batting diamonds and tracks, for safer play
- Working with manufacturers to enhance child safety seat design and installation instructions
Enactment and enforcement include the passage, strengthening and enforcement of laws; the issuance and enforcement of regulations; and the development of voluntary standards and guidelines affecting injury prevention.
Examples include:
- Upgrading child passenger safety laws to include booster seats and other provisions
- Advocating for four-sided fencing around pools and spas
- Testifying before the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission about the dangers of baby bath seats
- Writing a letter to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration about proposed regulations concerning child safety seat registrations
Evaluation includes research, data collection and surveillance, as well as evaluation of programs and product effectiveness.
Examples include:
- Conducting focus groups and online polls to assess safety-related knowledge, attitudes and self-reported behavior
- Counting the numbers of educational pieces distributed, families attending an educational workshop, and print and broadcast media hits
- Assessing whether an upgrade to a smoke alarm ordinance has resulted in more families installing these devices in their homes
- Determining if improved child passenger safety laws have resulted in fewer traffic-related deaths and injuries among children
Economic incentives include making safety devices available to families at reduced cost and working with manufacturers to lower the cost of safety devices.
Examples include:
- Distributing and installing smoke alarms and carbon monoxide detectors in low-income communities
- Conducting bike rodeos and distributing helmets to low-income children
- Educating families about child passenger safety and installing free or low-cost car seats for families in need
- Canvassing urban apartments to distribute outlet covers to prevent electrocutions
Empowerment includes grassroots activism as well as the formation of federal and private-sector advisory panels or partnerships at the national, state or local level.
Examples include:
- Inviting new partners to join us in addressing particular injury risk areas (e.g., traffic safety engineers to help combat pedestrian injuries and deaths, or certified athletic trainers to promote sports safety)
- Participating in national safety observances such as National Poison Prevention Week, National Safe Boating Week and International Walk to School Day
- Joining other local safety groups to leverage resources and expand community reach (e.g., Injury-free Coalition for Kids, Risk Watch Champion Teams)
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