Evaluation Pilot of “Dog Buddies”
– A Dog Bite Prevention Campaign
The evaluation of a health education program for
Grade One students designed to increase awareness
and teach the best ways to safely interact with dogs
was conducted. Program resources included a poster,
pamphlet and video encouraging the public to “know,
slow and freeze” around dogs. This project was
conducted in partnership with the City of Ottawa and
the Ottawa Humane Society.
For more information on this project please contact
Morag Mackay at mmackay@cheo.on.ca.
Physicians’ Beliefs and Practices Related
to Educating Parents about Child Passenger Restraints
A national survey of paediatricians and family physicians’
current beliefs and behaviour related to this topic
was conducted in partnership with professional associations
and funded by Transport Canada and CHEO.
For more information please contact Morag Mackay
at mmackay@cheo.on.ca.
City of Ottawa Data Report - 2001
This data report provides an analysis of local injury
data for the years 1995-1999 and forms the basis for
annual Injury Prevention Report Cards. Data presented
include Coroner's death data, hospital separations
and CHEO CHIRPP visits. In addition to five-year trends
where appropriate, the report provides a descriptive
analysis for children and youth in the City of Ottawa
including breakdowns by age, gender, nature of injury
and external cause of injury. The top five issues
for select age groups are also presented to aid in
prioritization of prevention efforts.
For more information on this report please contact
Morag Mackay at mmackay@cheo.on.ca.
Community Interventions Systematic Review
Community-based injury prevention interventions
seek to change social norms about acceptable safety
behaviours by focusing on altering behaviour, promoting
environmental change within the community, or passing
and enforcing legislation. This systematic review
analyzed 32 studies in schools, municipalities, and
cities that evaluated the impact of community-based
injury prevention efforts on childhood injuries, safety
behaviors, or the adoption of safety devices. Most
relied on an educational approach, sometimes in combination
with legislation or subsidies to reduce the cost of
safety devices such as bicycle helmets. Community-based
approaches are effective at increasing some safety
practices, such as bicycle helmet use and car seat
use among children. Common elements of successful
community-based approaches that should be replicated
in future studies include (1) the use of multiple
strategies grounded in a theory of behaviour change,
(2) approaches that are tailored to meet unique community
needs, (3) the inclusion of community stakeholders
in the development of interventions, and (4) the use
of a randomized controlled design to maximize the
trustworthiness of reported findings. Funding for
this study was provided by the Packard Foundation.
For more information please see full
article at Community-Based Injury Prevention Interventions,
or contact Morag Mackay at mmackay@cheo.on.ca.
CrossPoints Evaluation
This project consisted of an evaluation of an interactive
3-D desktop virtual reality (VR) program designed
to educate and train children to safely cross streets
to assess whether VR can be used to increase children's
skills & knowledge of pedestrian safety and whether
learning in the virtual environment transfers to real
world behaviour. In partnership with the University
of Ottawa Virtual Reality Lab, funded by the ONF.
For more information please contact Morag Mackay
at mmackay@cheo.on.ca.
"Don’t Use Your Brains for Brakes”
"Don’t Use Your Brains for Brakes”
was a three year injury prevention project with the
long-term goal of reducing brain injury in school-aged
children and youth participating in outdoor recreational
activities such as bicycling, in-line skating, tobogganing,
skating, skiing and snow boarding. The project involved
promoting helmet use and other protective equipment,
skill instruction, hazard identification and equipment
maintenance. The primary target group for the project
was school- aged children and youth between the ages
of 5 and 18 years. Secondary targets included parents/guardians
and other potential caregivers (extended family, teachers,
coaches, etc.) and community partners (firefighters,
schools, retail outlets, media and other community
agencies working to make outdoor recreational activities
safe). Plan-it Safe gratefully acknowledges funding
from the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation for this initiative
and the City of Ottawa for its partnership with this
endeavor.
For more information on this project please contact
Sheila Mongeon at smongeon@cheo.on.ca.
Eastern Region Injury Network (ERIN) - Regional
Initiative: Medicine Round Up -2002
The “Medicine Round UP” was a regional
initiative undertaken by the Eastern Region Injury
Network in November 2002. ERIN facilitates collaboration
and communication in order to maximize the effectiveness
and efficiency of injury prevention programs in Eastern
Ontario. Its Coordinating Committee is comprised of
membership from the six regional Health Units, the
District Health Councils, Children’s Hospital
of Eastern Ontario (Plan-it Safe! and other stakeholders
with a regional presence and a mandate for injury
prevention). Through the use of various media channels,
residents in Eastern Ontario were encouraged to rid
their homes of out-dated and no-longer-needed medications,
with the hope of reducing injuries in both children
and the older adult population. The emphasis was on
safe disposal of medications by returning them to
participating area pharmacies. This project was unique
in that it provided an opportunity for injury practitioners
from across Eastern Ontario to present local campaigns
with a unified regional look and message.
For more information contact Shelley Reid at reid_s@cheo.on.ca.
Feasibility of the Ottawa Car Seat Round-Up
and Loaner Program
The Car Seat Round-Up and Loaner Program was initiated
in 1999 in partnership with the City of Ottawa as
a feasibility study in response to the high rate of
unsafe child restraint systems in circulation in the
City of Ottawa and a community identified need for
a solution to low income families inability to purchase
new car seats. The main objectives of the study were
to assess the feasibility of a program designed to
decrease the number of unsafe child restraint systems
through community round-up events and increase access
to safe child restraint systems for families with
limited incomes through a community run loaner program.
Project staff developed a 'How To Setup a Car Seat
Round-up and Loaner Program' resource kit based on
our experiences and is available for distribution
to other communities in Ontario and the rest of Canada.
Plan-it Safe gratefully acknowledges funding from
the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation for this initiative.
For more information contact Sheila Mongeon at smongeon@cheo.on.ca.
GIS
Feasibility of using a geographic information system
(GIS) to spatially explore factors in motor vehicle
collisions involving child pedestrians and bicyclists.
The overall goal of this project was to explore the
feasibility of establishing a pediatric injury related
geographical information system (GIS) for Ottawa-Carleton.
The two areas of enquiry for this initial exploration
were child pedestrian injuries and child bicyclist
injuries within the region.
For more information please contact Morag Mackay
at mmackay@cheo.on.ca.
Risk Watch™
The goal of this project was to evaluate the impact
of the Risk Watch™ Elementary Injury Prevention
School Curriculum on elementary school children’s
safety knowledge, safety behaviour and incidence of
injury and near misses. The primary objective was
to determine whether children who participate in Risk
Watch™ experience fewer medically attended injuries
or near misses than those children attending control
schools. Plan-it Safe gratefully acknowledges funding
from the Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation for this initiative.
For more information on this study please contact
Morag MacKay at mmackay@cheo.on.ca.
Safe Kids Week 2003 Product Round UP
Thousands of children are injured every year as a
result of products found in their own homes. As part
of National Safe Kids Week 2003, CHEO’s Injury
Prevention Centre, Plan-it Safe, in partnership with
the City of Ottawa alerted parents and caregivers
to the product-related dangers of old, second-hand
or unsafe baby equipment. The aim of the campaign
was to reduce the number of children injured as a
result of using these products.
On Saturday, June 7th, 2003, parents, caregivers,
and community members were invited to drop off old,
second-hand or unsafe baby equipment at one of four
fire stations across the City of Ottawa. Items such
as baby walkers with wheels, strollers, playpens,
cribs, baby bath seats, car seats and baby gates were
rounded-up and accepted for destruction. In total,
68 items that may have caused harm to a child were
collected and destroyed thereby taking them out of
circulation.
This campaign was generously sponsored by CAA, SEARS
Carlingwood, Merivale LOEB and 3 local Shopper’s
Drug Mart locations: Merivale, Alta Vista and Meadowlands.
Safe Kids Week is a national campaign held every
spring to raise public awareness of children’s
safety issues. Safe Kids Week is a project of Safe
Kids Canada, the national injury prevention program
of Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children, dedicated
to preventing injuries to children. The campaign is
sponsored by Johnson & Johnson.
For more information on this initiative, please contact
Jody Yanko at jyanko@cheo.on.ca
or visit the Safe Kids Canada website at www.safekidscanada.ca.
SES and Injury Systematic Review
The link between economic prosperity and child health
is very well established. In 1991, 18% of Canadian
children under the age of 18 were living in poverty,
and those living in the poorest income areas were
at the greatest risk of dying from injuries. However,
the evidence has not been systematically reviewed
to allow an understanding of the specific relationship
between socio-economic status (SES) and childhood
injury. Such a scientific synthesis is an important
starting point for evidence-based programming, policy
making and future research agendas. Health Canada
commissioned a systematic review of the published
literature examining this potential association in
early 1998. The specific objectives of the project
were to: describe the types of measures of SES used
in the study of childhood injury; assess the quality
and nature of evidence regarding the relationship
between SES and the incidence of childhood injury;
and assess the evidence regarding the relationship
between SES and the uptake of injury-preventing measures
or behaviours. This project was funded by the CHEO
Research Institute and Health Canada.
For more information on this study please contact
Morag MacKay at mmackay@cheo.on.ca
or view the report.
Shaken Baby Syndrome in Canada
A retrospective chart review was performed for the
years 1988–1998, of the cases of shaken baby
syndrome that were reported to the child protection
teams of 11 pediatric tertiary care hospitals in Canada.
Shaken baby syndrome was defined as any case reported
at each institution of intracranial, intraocular or
cervical spine injury resulting from a substantiated
or suspected shaking, with or without impact, in children
aged less than 5 years. This study was funded by the
Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation. Read the article published
in the CMAJ • January 21, 2003; 168 (2) ©
2003 [Full
Text]
For more information on this study please contact
Morag MacKay at mmackay@cheo.on.ca.
Sports & Recreational Injury Prevention
in Children and Youth: A Systematic Review & Best
Practices
This project consisted of conducting a systematic
review of research evidence on prevention strategies
to provide useful information in setting direction
for future programming, policymaking and research
for children and youth participating in sport and
recreational activities. In partnership with the British
Columbia Injury Research and Prevention Unit (BCIRPU)
and funded by the CHEO Research Institute, BCIRPU
and the Rick Hansen Neurotrauma Initiative.
For more information on this study please contact
Morag MacKay at mackay@cheo.on.ca
or read the report.
Booster
Seat Use and Misuse in Ottawa
The observational study estimated the rate of booster
seat use; parent reported reasons for non-use and
preference with respect to receipt of car seat safety
information among a sample of families whose children
attend licensed childcare facilities in the City of
Ottawa. This study was funded by the CHEO Research
Institute.
For more information please contact Morag Mackay
at mmackay@cheo.on.ca
Child Motor Vehicle Restraint
Study
A prospective surveillance project
designed to examine the effectiveness of vehicle restraint
systems and to determine if they can be improved.
Medical data are integrated with collision scene and
vehicle information in an attempt to better understand
the mechanism of injury and the role played by the
restraint system. This project is being conducted
in partnership with Transport Canada, SickKids Hospital
and Ryerson Polytenic and funded in part by the Ontario
Neurotrauma Foundation.
For more information contact Sheila Mongeon at smongeon@cheo.on.ca.
Environmental Scan and Cataloguing of Injury
Prevention Videos Targeting Children and Youth
As part of their efforts to increase awareness of
injury prevention by hospital staff and the public,
Plan-it Safe is working to compile a list of injury
prevention videos targeting children and youth that
are currently available. Once identified, each video
is obtained, viewed and catalogued with the hope of
identifying videos or portions thereof that could
be looped together and shown as part of educational
efforts at CHEO. This is an ongoing activity and an
up-to-date list will be available to interested stakeholders.
Further, if you are aware of videos that could be
added to our list please contact Shelley Reid at reid_s@cheo.on.ca.
Evaluation of the “I Promise”
Program
The I Promise Program (IPP) is an injury prevention
initiative designed to reduce injury and death attributable
to new young-drivers. It is a two-part voluntary program
based upon 1) a signed contract between youth and
parents; and 2) a 1-800 number on a rear-window car-decal
allowing community members to report on driving behaviour.
It is seen as complimentary to other strategies such
as graduated licensing, drivers' education and mass
marketing campaigns and will be offered by insurance
companies to new drivers. More program information
can be found at: www.ipromiseprogram.com.
Plan-it Safe became involved in the evaluation of
this program after an initial inquiry indicated it
had yet to have any formal evaluation. The Centre's
first objective is therefore to assess the acceptability
and feasibility of the program among new young drivers
in Eastern Ontario. This is being done through a formative
evaluation targeting new drivers, their parents and
members of the general community and a small-scale
pilot study with 50 families. The pilot that began
in 2002 is an actual small-scale implementation of
all aspects of the IPP over a six-month period. At
1-month and 6-months into the pilot study, in-depth
interviews are being conducted with both parents and
new drivers to assess their thoughts on the program,
as well as their self-assessed attitudes and behaviour
with respect to driving behaviour. The formative evaluation
and pilot study will provide important groundwork
for Plan-it Safe's secondary objective, an impact/outcome
evaluation of the I Promise Program in its fully launched
form with insurance companies. Plan-it Safe gratefully
acknowledges funding from the Ontario Neurotrauma
Foundation for this initiative.
For more information contact Dr. Lisa Votta at lvotta@cheo.on.ca.
Ottawa CHIRPP Expansion Project
A 3-year project to enhance the data available to
establish a one-year population-based paediatric injury
related surveillance system in emergency departments
and urgent care centres in Ottawa; and use those data
to develop a model to predict population-based rates
for all injuries and neurotrauma using the current
Canadian Hospital Injury Reporting and Prevention
Program (CHIRPP) data at CHEO. Funded in part by the
Ontario Neurotrauma Foundation (ONF).
For more information contact Sheila Mongeon at smongeon@cheo.on.ca.
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