Strategies to Prevent Child Injuries

CHILDHOOD INJURIES

Introduction

Urgent consideration is needed to handle the issue of child injuries over the world. There have been extensive shifts in the epidemiological examples of child demise; while incredible advancement has been made in counteracting infectious illnesses, the introduction of children and teenagers to the dangers of injury seem, by all accounts, to be increasing and will keep on doing so in the near future (Hyder, 2003). The global focus of children well being interventions’ has been on decreasing mortality of kids less than 5 years to accomplish the Millennium Development Goals. This has implied that the 5-18-year age bunch, in which injuries make up an incredible weight, has received less consideration. Without a doubt over the entire age range of children, the issue of child injuries is almost always absent from talks and is generally imperceptible in policies.

In the December of 2008, WHO along with the United Nations Children’s Fund, published the first of its kind World report on child injury prevention, stressing the problem internationally (Sminkey, 2008).

The significance of child injury

Injury is a leading cause of death and misery among children aged one, and rises to become the main cause of demise among children in the age group of 10 to 19 years. Every year, nearly 950 000 young children less than 18 years of age die as a consequence of an injury. Almost 90% of these, i.e., around 830 000 die because of accidental injuries which is about the same count that pass away from measles, whooping cough, diphtheria, tetanus and polio consolidated (Meddings, 2011). A large portion of these accidental wounds is the aftereffect of street car accidents, drowns, burns, falls and poisoning, with the most noteworthy rates happening in low-wage and middle wage nations (Lewit & Baker, 1995).

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The significance of child injury can be concealed by an emphasis on the significant concerns for mortality of young children who are under 5 years of age, which in many countries do not add to the injury. In fact, even in areas where deaths due to injuries are known to be under reported and child survival is decided basically by perinatal reasons, lower respiratory tract infections, measles, stomach ailments and malaria, child injury has an effect on death rates of kids under 5 years and includes a large extent of children passings after the age of 5 years (Smith & Pless, 1994). In nations that have gained significant progress in wiping out or decreasing child deaths from different other reasons, nonetheless, child injury obviously arises as a major issue (Johnston, 2008). For instance, in high-salaried nations, accidental injuries represent about 40% of all young deaths, despite the fact that these nations for the most part have generously lower child injury casualty rates than low- and middle income nations.

Health education strategies

Instruction, development of skills and behavior modification programs for children and their parents ought to be consolidated as one part of a varied child injury avoidance system, yet ought not be utilized as stand-alone measures as there is no confirmation that this sort of project decreases risk of injury in the absence of any other safety measures.

Strategy 1: to Educate the general public regarding risks of injury and the effective methods to avoid child injuries

Education is an establishment to help, coach and guide parents, guardians, and organizations to settle on better decisions for children’s health and security. Formal training can prepare the general population with tools to diminish injuries to children. Also, along with increasing the knowledge aptitudes, child injury training can help parents, caregivers and the public make the fundamental moves to make more secure situations at home, at play, and even while the child is out on the roads. Knowledge about child injury avoidance can serve as a premise for enhancing safety gadgets and changing approach and practices in the communities at large. Actions that can be taken for this include-

• Integration of child injury prevention education into various efforts for child health promotion like- infant and early childhood programs. This can also be incorporated into maternal programs.
• General education to the decision makers of the society like the lawmakers, administration of the school and various business leaders should be provided about the burdens child injuries can have, the need for prevention, how it can save money and what are its health benefits publically.
• The knowledge imparted should be put to practice by making or strengthening associations with research organizations, individuals working in injury prevention and with all those working with children and their families directly.
• Textbooks, periodicals and newspapers should contain information regarding the importance of prevention of child injuries.

Strategy 2: to Develop new venues for imparting child injury awareness programs in schools, communities and professionals

Educational material regarding Child injury prevention should occupy an important place in educational curriculum and even in the training and practice to professionals. Prevention of Injury can be coordinated into numerous courses and settings and ought not be constrained to education on health and the promotion of safety. Education pertaining to child injury can take place in parenting classes, language training classes, vocational training, etc. to achieve this certain action can be taken like-

• Internship opportunities for child injury prevention can be established at agencies and other organizations are various levels –local, state and national level.
• Training modules on how child injury programs can be implemented should be developed. This should include evaluation, communication, risks and ways to advocate them.
• The internet and other technology should be used to improve the access to the training for child injury prevention.
• Training which pertains to child injury in fields like science, engineering, transportation and architecture should be provided.
• All mothers who are expecting and their families should be educated and trained in child injury and emergency response in case of an injury.

Strengths:

Education and training are a crosscutting strategy that can impact other facets of injury prevention. It is considered to have a more formal connection, with the plan to propel change. Child injury prevention training should be integrated into more extensive educational projects, creating powerful, instructive materials, cataloging and offering what works, and paying consideration on instructive needs and services at all levels from essential instruction to expert proceeding with training.

Weaknesses:

Not all people can be educated at once and this will require a continuous effort.

Social change strategies

Unplanned and Fast urbanization keeps on creating comps, casual urban settlements and slums, which pose as high dangers of child injuries all across the world. Motorization likewise influences child injury hazard. Streets have dependably been risky spots for children, yet the development rate of traffic, and the overall change in transport frameworks to the streets, implies that the issue is progressively squeezing (‘Executive summary: reducing childhood pedestrian injuries’, 2002). Street injuries as of now are the main reason for death in the age group of 15–19 years and the second driving reason for death among children aged 10–14 year. Injuries and deaths from street car accidents are estimated to rise drastically over the world in the advancing decades (Chalmers, 2010).

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Ecological change might likewise have an effect on child injury rates. Young children can be presented to injury hazards either through an increase in extreme occasions that pose dangers straightforwardly, for example, flooding or mud streams, dry spells, rise in sea level, etc. Poor kids in low- and middle wage nations, who frequently stay in over burdened casual urban settlements or underestimated country zones, are particularly defenseless against the negative impacts of procedures, for example, urbanization, mechanization and ecological change (Gracey, 2003). These major worldwide techniques may have a huge impact on child injury study and preventive action, and child injury in a quickly changing world needs to be at the heart of future general health strategy and practice.

Strategy 1: Legislation and enforcement

Legislation obliging the utilization of protective equipments, for example, protective helmets, child traveler restrictions, safety belts, smoke cautions, and fencing around swimming pools can prompt expanded use of such gear and in this manner decrease the danger of injuries and their seriousness (‘Education and legislation are key to preventing child injuries’, 2009). Compulsory standards for different products and services (e.g. Play area gear, security equipment, toys, furniture and handling) additionally indicate duty to safety for children and can decrease injury (Ramagoni, Shetty & Hegde, 2007). To be successful, obviously, enactment and regulations must be implemented. As a rule the level of authorization decides the viability of these prevention measures.

Strategy 2: modification of products

Modification of items, for example, cooking stoves, lights, play area surfaces, furniture and decorations (e.g. Bunks, stairway railings) and adjustment of item package can act as successful prevention methods by decreasing the danger of injury, diminishing access to a risk and/or by lessening the severity of injury. The count of stairs, the direction in which windows open, and how galleries are planned are extremely critical cases (Martin, 2012). Child injuries can likewise be prevented by features, for example, low level handrails on stairs (Kim, 2008). Homes are regularly outlined with the needs of grownups as opposed to children as a top priority.

Strengths:

Society has a great role to play in the health of an individual. Individuals can make a great change in the degree of child injuries from trying to create a safe environment for children.

Weaknesses:

Increase in traffic influences how individuals use the road as pedestrians. Perhaps, the most important aspect related to child injuries is deprivation. The standard of living and the way it is distributed plays a vital role in people’s health.

Strategies that reflect either the medical, behavioral and/or empowerment Approach.

Safety of children as a general health concern has picked up momentum and a solid research establishment over the past decade (‘Child safety programs’, 1982)s. To attain big gains up in the safety of children, prevention of child injuries information and practice should now be incorporated into standard child and juvenile health activities. From the health perspective of a child, this integration is vital, given the weight of child injuries. Such reconciliation is expected to overcome hindrances to kid damage aversion from the safety perspectives of children. Injury prevention must be incorporated in child wellbeing examination motivation and as a component of kid and juvenile health advancement and practice. A few steps may be taken to start this reconciliation.

Strategy 1: rehabilitation and Care

Improvement should me made in the quality and access of first aid and vital trauma care. Rehabilitation of the injured child is an important step to reduce the severity of injuries and their aftereffects. This will help to reduce the severity and frequency of disability related to injury and will improve outcomes for children with disability.

Strategy 2: Health Care and Health Systems

Medical services providers treat injuries, however, they are likewise accomplices in counteractive action through social insurance systems. While reacting to and treating injury, health care providers are basic for precisely reporting external reasons for wounds and injuries. Past the clinical setting, human health suppliers are sound promoters for child health and can encourage change in groups and families (Keyes, 1999).

Strengths:

Health care providers can educate and promote the prevention of child injuries, both at an individual level and at community level.

Weaknesses:

There are people living in the under-privileged sector who cannot reach out for the health service providers. The rate of child injuries in the poor socio economic class ig comparatively higher than the urban sector.

Recommendations for future health promotion

Both nonfatal and fatal injuries of children are expensive from numerous points of view. Notwithstanding the significant burden of death and handicap, injuries to children can likewise bring about generous financial expenses, including medical care facilities to the injured child and lost profitability for his or her guardians. The vision ought to be to anticipate injuries to children where they live, work, learn, play, and go by setting a national vital heading for moving from attention to the activity. This could be possible by illuminating activities cutting over all manifestations of youngster inadvertent damage and can be utilized to outline more particular activities by harm sort. this can be achieved by-

• Creating awareness about the degree, risks and effects of injuries in children as compared to other health issues.
• Drawing attention towards the ways of prevention of child injuries.
• Recommendations can be provided to increase the efforts for prevention of child injuries by improving data, research, education, communication and training.
• A plan of action should be outlined for organizing and then implementing child injury preventive actions.

Conclusion

Children have the privilege of health, a protected environment and protection from damage (‘Children’s Health And Health Care’, 2007). Nations are obliged to take administrative, authoritative, social and instructive measures to guarantee the maximum extent of safety and development of the child. This commitment incorporates shielding children from injury. Unless the multi-sectoral activities depicted above are spread and executed in an auspicious way around the world, the weight of injury on children’s health and survival will rise and a percentage of the interest won through kid survival activities will be dissolved as children lose their lives and health to injury later in youth (Miller, Romano & Spicer, 2000). The hindrances that at present thwart advances in prevention of child injury can be somewhat overcome by coordinating child injuries in the teenage and adult health motivation, both in arrangement and practically speaking (Alonge & Hyder, 2013). On the other hand, advancement in child health will be constrained if child injuries-are not tended to methodically.

References

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Chalmers, E. (2010). Review of child road injury prevention initiatives. Injury Prevention, 16(Supplement 1), A8-A9

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Executive summary: reducing childhood pedestrian injuries. (2002). Injury Prevention, 8(90001), 3i-8.

Gracey, M. (2003). Child Health Implications of Worldwide Urbanization. Reviews On Environmental Health, 18(1).

Hyder, A. (2003). Childhood injuries. Injury Prevention, 9(4), 292-292.

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Keyes, C. (1999). Communication and coordination of care among providers. International Journal For Quality In Health Care, 11(2), 169-170.

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Martin, R. (2012). Product safety–so who is responsible?. Injury Prevention, 18(Supplement 1), A126-A126.

Meddings, D. (2011). Child injury prevention and child survival. Injury Prevention, 17(3), 145-146.

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Ramagoni, N., Shetty, Y., & Hegde, A. (2007). Do Our Children Play Safe?. Journal Of Clinical Pediatric Dentistry, 31(3), 160-163.

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Smith, R., & Pless, I. (1994). Preventing injuries in childhood. BMJ, 308(6940), 1312-13.