Safe Kids Austria/Grosse Schützen Kleine

Injury Facts

• Accidental injury is the leading cause of death for children ages 1 to 14 in Austria.

• In 2003, 71 children ages 1 to 14 died in Austria from accidental injuries.

• The leading cause of fatal Accidental childhood injuries in 2002 was motor vehicle crashes, followed by drowning and falls.

• The annual cost of child injury deaths in Austria is an estimated $27 million in U.S. dollars.

Who We Are

Safe Kids Austria/Grosse Schützen Kleine is a nonprofit child safety organization with offices in seven provinces and coalitions in two. Approximately 1.3 million children from one million families in Austria are involved with Safe Kids Austria/Grosse Schützen Kleine programs .

What We Do

Since 1983, Safe Kids Austria/Grosse Schützen Kleine has provided information for health professionals, such as midwives, doctors and children's nurses, as well as parents, childcare workers and teachers. Local network offices collaborate with the Red Cross, police departments, fire departments, local governments and others.

On a national level, Safe Kids Austria/Grosse Schützen Kleine conducts annual child safety campaigns in conjunction with various government departments, the Federation of the Austrian Social Security Association and the European Child Safety Alliance.

Where are we now? ( July 2005 - Recemt Programs)

Six new 30 sec. spots on how to protect your child

Safe Kids Austria/Grosse Schützen Kleine is currently producing five 30 second spots on how to prevent childhood injuries at home (window falls, burns and scalds), in traffic (buckling up of older children), at sports (the right equipment for doing sports) and in contact with dogs (the right behavior with dogs). These spots are being produced in both German and English and include address children ages 2 to 17. An extra spot deals with the overall message on injury prevention and presents Safe Kids Austria/Grosse Schützen Kleine as the number one partner in injury prevention. The production is supported by Johnson & Johnson Medical Products Austria. The goal is to inform the Austrian population about the importance of injuries to children and how to prevent those injuries. These spots will be officially presented in September and will be broadcasted on a regular basis within the official program of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation.

National Drowning Campaign 2005: Have Fun in the Water, but be Waterwise

Together with the Federation of the Austrian Social Security Association and Johnson & Johnson Consumer Austria, Safe Kids Austria/Grosse Schützen Kleine organized a press conference on the subject of drowning at the Department of Pediatric Surgery at the Medical University of Graz. In order to directly address children, Safe Kids Austria/Grosse Schützen Kleine edited a small children’s book containing a thrilling story on drowning and sent the book to every kindergarten in Austria. The group also designed a poster with summer safety tips for families.

The Child Accident Research Center

In 2004, Safe Kids Austria/Grosse Schützen Kleine founded the first Austrian Child Accident Research Center at the Department of Pediatric Surgery at the Medical University of Graz. Since that time, more than 10,000 child accidents have been analyzed. In May 2005, the research center released its first report, a study on the risk of dog-related injuries, specifically dog bites. The results were presented to the public at a press conference and the study was accepted by the Journal of Pediatrics.

Keep Our Crossways Safe!

Safe Kids Austria/Grosse Schützen Kleine created a special traffic safety program for primary school children. Together with local police officers, children checked the parking situation around their schools to ensure that drivers had followed the “5-meters law,” a rule that requires motorists to park more than 5 meters away from crosswalks so that drivers can see children attempting to cross the street. The children and police acted as “Traffic Safety Detectives” and taught adults about the importance of following the 5-meters law. The project began in 2004 and is supported by the Local Traffic Safety Department.

Child Safety Tips on Prescription Pads

Since 2003, the Austrian “Mother-Child Passport” has required that doctors inform parents about childhood injury prevention. In supporting this mandate, Safe Kids Austria/Grosse Schützen Kleine has developed Child Safety Tips in the form of a “medical prescription pad.” Doctors receive the pads for free and each page includes the most important tips for childhood accident prevention. Safe Kids Austria/Grosse Schützen Kleine also provided a detailed manual on child safety for the doctors. Johnson & Johnson Consumer Austria, Sandoz Pharmaceuticals and the Austrian Federation of the Austrian Social Security Association all support this program.

First Austrian Child Safety House

Safe Kids Austria/Grosse Schützen Kleine is creating the first Austrian Child Safety House at the Medical University of Graz. The house will serve as an information center on childhood safety at home, during leisure time, sports and in traffic for parents and caregivers. Visitors will be ale to enter model rooms that demonstrate the most current child safety measures.