One of the serious problems of modern society is considered child injuries. Prevention of childhood injuries acts as the main method of ensuring the safety of life and activity of each child. Meanwhile, the importance of this problem in society is often underestimated.
Relevance of the issue
The social significance of the problem is obvious. Its solution is on the border between traditional medical methods of treatment and pedagogical sciences. The first are aimed at eliminating the consequences that cause childhood injuries. Prevention of childhood injuries refers to the scientific pedagogical field. It provides measures aimed at preventing dangerous situations. The humanistic nature of the problem is expressed in the formation of a responsible attitude to personal security. It must be said that injuries are a complex concept. It is not only viewed from the point of view of traditional medicine in the narrow sense, but also involves disorders leading to an impairment of somatic and mental health.
Statistics Features
Measures to prevent childhood injuries are aimed at reducing the mortality and morbidity of young people. Among them, the prevention of accidents is of particular importance. They pose a major health hazard for the younger generation. Injury acts as the main cause of mortality in children from 3 years. Death in accidents or serious damage occurs more often than from all existing diseases together. Especially threatening are the statistics of mortality among young people in road accidents. In this regard, the prevention of childhood road traffic injuries is included as a mandatory section in the system of primary and general education and upbringing. The development of skills and the formation of the correct model of student behavior are carried out according to specially developed plans.
Child Injury Prevention Help
An educational institution from primary school should provide students with basic knowledge about self-preservation. It is important here to promote the development of independence, combining it with the education of responsibility for the safety of behavior. In the lower grades, you can reorient the individual qualities of students. This is possible because their actions, as a rule, are based on deformed or underestimated ideas about real acceptable risk in a given situation. That is why childhood injuries are so common in elementary grades. Prevention of childhood injuries today often involves abstract measures to a certain extent. Most of them are based on general recommendations and in many cases do not give the desired effect.
Child Injury Prevention Plan
Modern conditions require specialists to take a special approach to the process of education and upbringing. Pedagogical activity at the present time includes not only the transfer of knowledge in various subjects. The education system includes work on the prevention of childhood injuries. It distinguishes several subsystems. The objects of influence in them are:
- Society
- The collective.
- A family.
- Personality.
How to prevent childhood injuries? Prevention of childhood injuries includes:
- Developing skills for safe activities and behavior.
- Targeted support (home visit).
- Advocacy for the use of security features.
- Environmental adjustment.
- Strengthening the security of consumer goods.
- Taking administrative and legislative measures, monitoring their implementation.
- Development of pilot programs by local communities.
Skills development
Children's injuries and their prevention are the subject of research by many organizations operating in the health sector. For example, the WHO Regional Office for Europe has a Network of Actual Statistics. She, in particular, was studying the functioning of children's traffic circles. They provided training materials that took into account the age of the audience. The program for the prevention of childhood injuries was carried out both within educational institutions and separately, in specially formed clubs.
Pilot projects
It was said above that, according to statistics, people from three years fall into the risk group. In this regard, the prevention of injuries in kindergarten is of particular importance. Education of pupils provides for various techniques. These include, in particular:
- Modeling the situation on the road.
- Create desktop layouts.
- Training in real conditions (on the street).
Adults explained the rules of behavior, observed and evaluated the actions of the pupils. Prevention of childhood road traffic injuries contributes to the development of skills of rational and safe behavior. Of great practical importance are classes on the street. Children in such cases participate in real situations on the road, make decisions independently. Separately considered the rules of movement on a bicycle. The program for the prevention of childhood road traffic injuries includes theoretical exercises, an assessment of the knowledge gained and their practical application under the supervision of adults.
Home safety
Prevention of childhood injuries on the roads is carried out with the participation of parents, teachers, educators, law enforcement officials. Ensuring security in everyday life lies mainly with adult members of the family. In this regard, explanatory work should be carried out primarily with parents, grandparents, older brothers and sisters. It is necessary that they develop certain rules for the behavior of the child at home in case of absence of adults. In addition, special attention should be paid to a variety of devices that ensure the safety of children in everyday life. These include, in particular, smoke detectors, warning signals, blocking sensors, etc.
Security Tools
Prevention of childhood injuries in preschool education is not only explanatory work and practical exercises. Safety assumes certain structural changes in buildings and structures, the installation of fences, etc. In addition, the promotion of protective equipment is of particular importance. For example, one of the campaigns explained the need for bicycle helmets for young children. Another project was aimed at increasing the frequency of use of car restraints, seat belts. The use of protective equipment can be popularized in many ways. However, a project for the implementation of any program should include professional consultations using various information and communication systems.
Home visits
Prevention of childhood injuries in a school or other other educational institution is undoubtedly of great importance. However, it is important to provide support to citizens by visiting their home. In the framework of such activities, an assessment of the safety of living conditions, professional counseling is carried out. As the results of the analysis show, such programs have a positive effect and contribute to a change in the behavior of both children and adults. In the course of this activity, protective devices for home use may be provided free of charge.
Environmental correction
At present, enhancing safety in the human environment is one of the most common ways to prevent injuries among both children and adults. In the course of the activity, the arrangement of bicycle paths is carried out, street lighting improves, signs and warning signals are installed. Measures to change environmental conditions are mainly the responsibility of the authorities. In the administrations of municipalities special committees or departments should work, which would be engaged in their direct implementation. As research data shows, programs aimed at improving safety within a specific territory can significantly reduce injuries.
Specific measures
Traffic regulation on roads in a certain territory is oriented towards the safe distribution of traffic flow and the decrease in vehicle speed. Particularly strict control is carried out at the entrances to residential buildings. The following traffic management measures can be used in programs:
- Arrangement of roundabouts.
- Prohibition of movement in specific areas.
- Formation of security islands in the center of the roadway.
In addition, a measure is considered effective, implying the establishment of speed limits within the city. This helps prevent many accidents. A series of studies have established a link between the severity of pedestrian injuries and vehicle speed.
Playground Safety
Children are known to be very active and often forget about the likelihood of injury. To ensure safety in the arrangement of playgrounds, certain materials should be used. Reducing injuries contributes to the rubber coating of the tracks, reducing the height of horizontal bars. All structures installed on the sites must undergo engineering, environmental, and environmental review.
Consumer Safety
As the results of a number of scientific studies show, the use of containers with lids that are not accessible for children to open helps to significantly reduce the number of cases of poisoning (including fatalities). For example, in the UK, the use of this measure reduced their number by 85%. In the framework of injury prevention programs, standards are also being introduced on the structural safety of products such as refrigerators, televisions, microwave ovens, cribs, etc.
Administrative and legislative measures
The rules that are enshrined in regulatory legal acts are considered the most effective of all. Mostly they relate to road safety. In particular, the SDA establishes the requirements for the use of restraints, seat belts. The law defines the rules for cycling. Normative acts provide for certain liability for violation of established requirements. The punishment will depend on the severity of the offense. The legislation provides for fines, deprivation of a driver’s license, criminal liability for example. As observations show, such a system of punishments helps to reduce injuries, makes the movement participants pay great attention to their behavior and the actions of other people. Legislative measures that relate to the use of safety features in automobiles for young people were initially introduced to protect the most vulnerable categories of citizens. In a review of actual statistics, the European Bureau points to the unconditional effectiveness of legislative measures aimed at increasing the frequency of use of child seats and belts.
Community Activities
To assist the state and municipal authorities in carrying out activities to reduce child injuries, territorial public associations play an important role. They carry out outreach among young people, young people, adults. On a voluntary basis, training sessions are organized, to which representatives of the administration and law enforcement agencies are invited. Territorial associations independently develop prevention programs, coordinate them with authorized structures. Their activity combines different methods. Members of such communities can carry out public environmental assessments. Based on the assessment, conclusions and suggestions are formed to improve the environment.
Water safety
Child injuries are especially high in the summer. At the same time, vacations do not always coincide with those of adults. In this regard, for some time, children may be unattended by adults. Currently, as part of measures to improve the safety of young people, little attention is paid to the rules of behavior on the water. Meanwhile, according to statistics, in the summer period mortality during drowning is significantly increased. To reduce water injuries, the following should be carried out:
- Training in the rules of behavior within the water area.
- Child supervision.
- The construction of fences around open water sources, the adoption of relevant laws.
It is advisable to record the child in the swimming section. Coaches will not only teach him how to feel free in the water, but will also form his understanding of the correct behavior during swimming, including in the event of unforeseen situations.
Conclusion
Injury among children today is one of the leading problems in society. Its solution requires a special, integrated approach. Ensuring the safety of each child should be carried out by all adults with whom he is in varying degrees in contact. The key role in this, of course, belongs to the family. Along with this, the participation of DOW and a general educational institution is of no small importance. They should contribute to the formation of the correct behavior model in the child, understanding the need to comply with the requirements. The effectiveness of the measures taken is ensured by the actions of the authorities. In the implementation of programs to reduce and prevent injuries, active participation should be taken by employees of various services, traffic police inspectors. Particular attention must be paid to safety at home. For the most adequate assessment of the state of the domestic environment, it is necessary to conduct independent examinations. Creating a safe environment is facilitated by consultations with specialists.