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Child injury prevention Aotearoa

SAFEKIDS WEBSITE LAUNCHED!
http://www.safekids.org.nz

Info Centre News:
Including:

• Navigating the Safekids Website
• Internet illiterate? Not for long!
• What’s new in the Info Centre Collections?

Child injury prevention Aotearoa Advocacy Update: What’s happening?
Including:

• Better Transport, Better Roads
• Safe Routes to School - National Consultation Project Update
• Prams and Strollers

Conference Reviews:
Including:

Community Safety Conference Pacific Rim

• The Child Safety Stream
• Preventing Unintentional Injuries to Children: Barriers to Progress
• Beyond Roads Rates and Rubbish

The Third National Conference on Injury Prevention and Control (Australia)

A Kidsafe Week Feature:
Including:

Kidsafe Week 1999

• Welcome to Standards NZ
• Evaluation
• Ashburton Coalition Feature

And last but not least
Including:

• Housing New Zealand Installs Smoke Alarms
• Looking forward to the next edition
• Your feedback

NAVIGATING THE SAFEKIDS WEBSITE

The Safekids Website is made up of the following sections:

• A Home Page
• A ‘More about us’ section
• An ‘Advocacy and Issues’ section
• An ‘Info’ Centre’ section
• A ‘Safe Routes to School’ section
• A ‘Regional’ section
• A ‘Kidsafe Week’ section

In the "More about Us" section, Safekids is described. Our mission, aims and an overview of the projects and services that we provide is given. Our action model the 'Spectrum of Prevention' is also featured.

The section on "Advocacy and Issues" covers Safekids advocacy efforts at national levels for child injury prevention throughout New Zealand. Also included in this section is practical information on current advocacy issues and ways in which the child injury prevention workforce may become involved. From time to time we will post up position papers as well as action suggestions for those who are enthusiastic about being part of a political lobbying voice for child safety. There are two position papers currently loaded onto the site and these are on prams and strollers and on road reform. Advocacy for child injury prevention at local levels is also described.

Another section of the site is devoted to the Safekids Information Centre. There is a description of the Information Centre and its services and there are lists of Safekids publications, and resources available, plus order forms that you can print down and fax through to us. There are also the popular Safekids Fact Sheets that are given in full text. Please feel free to print down the Fact Sheets and use them in your work. As Fact Sheets are updated and new ones are developed, these also will be loaded onto the site. Safekids newsletters are also available on the site. They are in a simple word format to enable you to easily print down articles.

The "Safe Routes to School" section describes this programme, including current issues and project development, and the ‘Regional’ section describes Safekids work in the Auckland Region.

Also included on the site is a description of the development and history of Kidsafe Week, for which Safekids is the coordinating agency.

Finally on the site there is a site plan which may help you find your way around. Safekids Website will be constantly updated and developed.

Some of you may have seen this photo in a recent edition of the Health Promotion Forum Newsletter. The photo captures Isabel Bird working on a developing medium for communication within the injury prevention sector – the Internet! Specifically she is developing the Safekids web site. PHOTO: Pauline Proud

INTERNET ILLITERATE? NOT FOR LONG!

A few years ago, Internet for child injury prevention would have been a real treat! Now it is seen as a tool that can save time, travel, meeting expenses, stationery, photocopying and postage. Not all of us, however, are able to enjoy quick and easy access to the Internet, for some, because of the cost, and for others, because of our own lack of technical skills and confidence. In the future, it is likely that the cost of the necessary equipment for Internet access will drop, making it even more useful and available.

Being computer or technically illiterate is no longer a reasonable excuse, for those of us involved in child injury prevention work, to avoid learning how to use this valuable tool. The WWW Networking Project has been set up to assist those in health promotion and injury prevention to improve their skills with the Internet, in order to use it effectively as a tool for their work. The WWW Networking Project is funded by the HFA, and focuses on Injury Prevention as one of several health promotion sectors. Safekids has already taken full advantage of the WWW Networking Project. Not only have we all received training so that we can use the Internet effectively in our work, but we have even been encouraged and supported to develop our own Website!

The WWW Networking Project co-ordinator, Pauline Proud, is available to advise and train those who work in child injury prevention. This is a free service, which has been provided for over 560 individuals and more than 100 different health promotion groups throughout Aotearoa all ready!

"Don’t be put off the Internet by the thought of all that technology," says Pauline. "Often the first request related to the Internet is about e-mail, and access to quality information. I can coach on both functions, with the aim of showing how we can get into and out of the Internet without being bombarded with irrelevant information and without wasting time".

Any organisation which needs to work collaboratively, network, co-ordinate projects and collectively provide reports for accountability, can benefit from the Internet, and so training also demonstrates these functions. Managers also often want information about issues that emerge as they consider Internet for staff use, and this is also included. Training is offered at several different levels, from basic through to quite advanced, and can be altered to meet the needs of those being trained.

"WHAT'S NEW" IN THE INFO CENTRE COLLECTIONS

During the last 6 months over 160 items have been added to the collections. Here is a very small selection:

• There is a new video from Australia "Child safety…. made easy: How to prevent accidental injuries to your child" which is designed to be used with groups and to provoke discussion. This 14-minute video describes the major causes of unintentional injury to young children and steps which parents and caregivers can take to prevent such injuries.

• "A Parents Guide to Kidsafe Farms": This is another Australian resource originally produced by Kidsafe Australia and now made available to families in rural areas of New Zealand by NZVET. This booklet gives a good overview of child injury prevention on the farm, highlighting specifically rural hazards such as farm chemicals and safety with animals.

• A pamphlet produced by the Pedestrians Association in the UK called "When walking do you suffer road rage?" gives information about the Association, which is a pedestrian's advocacy group. Safekids Info Centre is a member, and the Pedestrian Association's small newsletter "Walk" is full of interesting articles and ideas.

RESEARCH

• An article published at the end of 1998 in the American Journal of Accident Analysis and Prevention asks, "Who is driving when unrestrained children and teenagers are hurt?". The authors examined driver characteristics in car crashes in which unrestrained children and teenagers were injured. Factors associated with a high risk of young passengers being unrestrained were: Male driver; Young driver; Drinking driver; Speeding or reckless driver; Night-time journey.

CAMPAIGN MATERIALS

• A campaign in England aims to reduce pollution and increase safety outside schools, through encouraging children and parents to walk regularly to and from school. The campaign guide "The walking class: Walking to school - travelling green" is aimed primarily at local authorities, but also contains useful information for teachers and parents. A resource pack "Walk to school; The big bear information pack" contains ideas and materials for use by children independently, for classroom use, and for parents and children to use together.

Child injury prevention Aotearoa: WHAT'S HAPPENING?

BETTER TRANSPORT, BETTER ROADS

Thanks to those of you who used Safekids Position Paper 1 (1999) to complete a submission or letter regarding the discussion document ‘Better Transport, Better Roads’. The Ministry of Transport received close to 1000 submissions on their discussion document ‘Better Transport, Better Roads’. At present, the submissions are being analysed, and a summary will be completed soon. It is expected that this summary will be available in later July. Safekids will provide key highlights from this summary in the next edition of Safekids News.

SAFE ROUTES TO SCHOOL - NATIONAL CONSULTATION PROJECT UPDATE:

From the last edition of Safekids News, most readers will be aware of the Safe Routes to School National Consultation Project. With one of the first steps, the Key Informant Survey, now completed, energy has focussed on confirming a schedule and format details for a series of Regional Workshops, and establishing a National Reference Group, made up of representatives from national agencies with an interest in Safe Routes to School. The regional workshops will be held during June and July, giving us the opportunity to gather the information necessary to guide the further development and spread of the programme. The workshops will focus on the issues and needs of each region. The resulting information will then be collated and a report will be written. This report will be presented to the National Reference Group for their consideration.

PRAMS AND STROLLERS

During the last few years, since the death of little Felix Penney, the issue of Pram and Stroller Safety has been continuously in the public eye. Since this time, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs has been particularly active in this area, organising an ‘Infant Product Safety Forum’, producing and consulting on a Discussion Document and undertaking further data collection. It became clear, at an early stage in the investigations, that there were some issues with the voluntary standard for prams and strollers, and that it required review. Standard production and standard review processes are time consuming, as they are important technical processes, which provide an excellent opportunity for design and safety improvements. Sue Campbell, of Plunket, who is a member of the standard review committee, reports that the review process is progressing well.

Other issues which have been considered by the Ministry include whether products now on sale comply with the voluntary standard, and recent research which highlights inappropriate practices (e.g. not using the harness, placing shopping bags on handles, sleeping older babies in prams) as a major cause of injury. In the attempt to ensure that the safest outcomes are arrived at, the Ministry is required to consider all options.

Safekids is committed to ‘best practice’ for preventing child injuries. In the area of Pram and Stroller safety, our ideal would be to see three components in place.

1. Safe pram design: Safe design should take into account common usage of a product. Safekids would like to see a design that recognises common practice, and ensures that common practice can occur safely. It is the pram and stroller standard, which is currently under review, which will provide the guidelines for what will be considered a ‘safe’ pram or stroller.
   
2. Regulation and appropriate enforcement: The role of regulation and enforcement is to ensure compliance to a standard of safety. With the safety of infants and babies, there should be no chances taken with compliance.
   
3. Education: Education about appropriate use is also important. Particularly important is provision of information at the point of sale. A standard can specify the information that should be provided at the point of sale. Information must also be appropriate in terms of language, delivery and location, for all the groups in New Zealand.

Many of you will by now have received Safekids Position Paper 2 (1999), which focuses on the issue of Pram and Stroller Safety, and some will have seen the comments on the NZ Injury Prevention email network system. You will be aware that the Ministry of Consumer Affairs will make recommendations to the Minister on the course of action for pram and stroller safety in the next few months.

Please Note: Safekids Position papers are available on the new Safekids Website!

COMMUNITY SAFETY CONFERENCE PACIFIC RIM

THE CHILD SAFETY STREAM OF THE SAFE COMMUNITIES CONFERENCE

Isabel Bird, the Child Safety Stream Convenor, provided the following report

The Child Safety Stream was one of the most popular streams at the Waitakere conference. Of the people who completed the evaluation forms, over 46% had attended the Child Safety Stream at some stage during the Conference. There were two workshop sessions, both of which attracted more than forty people. There were thirteen best practice presentations attended by over eighty people, and there was a panel discussion linking community resources and child injury, which attracted an audience of over ninety.

The people who attended the child safety stream sessions included decision-makers, researchers and practitioners from both rural and urban environments and from all over New Zealand. It was a great opportunity to network and meet each other and exchange ideas and information!

During the two months prior to the conference, the Information Centre was very busy with many requests from presenters who were completing their literature searches, looking for more references and generally seeking out information to support their excellent presentations. A common theme from all the best practice presentations was the importance of people working together, people working in partnership in local communities and of intersectoral collaboration. We listened to presentations about many interesting campaigns and resources, and we learned a lot from being together at the conference. It is also clear that we have a lot more to learn from each other in future! I hope that there are many more opportunities for us to meet and get together in the future.

The Way Forward for Child Injury Prevention in New Zealand/Aotearoa

The final session of the Child Safety Stream was entitled "Partnership and the way forward". In this session the participants worked in groups to determine what are the pressing issues for child injury prevention in New Zealand. In summary, we identified four major themes; Workforce Development, Data, Advocacy, and Cooperation.

The issues raised under each theme are provided below:

1. Workforce development
• increase skills in key areas such as advocacy, planning, assessment, communication and evaluation
• provide greater support to Maori and Pacific Island groups
• training
• clarifying responsibilities
• leadership
2. Data and statistics
• Minimum data set to be collected
• Data at both national and local levels is required
• Data needs to be up-to-date, free and accessible.
3. Advocacy
• The profile of injury prevention needs to be increased at local and national levels
• Proactive and reactive advocacy efforts for child safety need to be increased
• Children's rights include the right to be safe, and need to be prioritized over economic factors
• Political involvement - What is the legitimate role for injury prevention? Poverty, housing, unemployment all impact on child injury, therefore should we advocate beyond traditional "injury prevention" arenas?
• Good relationships with decision makers need to be fostered
• Mainstream groups need to lobby for and support Maori and migrant group initiatives in child injury prevention
4. Cooperation, coordination and communication
• These three "c's" are essential to effective injury prevention
• Collaboration is required at national agency levels as well as in local coalitions
• Network and partnership development needs to be continued
• A cross-cultural, intersectoral plan for the whole of New Zealand is required to ensure resource sharing at regional and national levels
• Development of a national injury prevention network is highly desirable

PREVENTING UNINTENTIONAL INJURIES TO CHILDREN:
BARRIERS TO PROGRESS

The research outlined in the following article was briefly presented at the Community Safety Conference in Waitakere. Dr Pat Tuohy kindly provided the article. A copy of the full report on this survey can be obtained from Dr Pat Tuohy, Chief Advisor, Child and Youth Health. PO Box 5013, Wellington.

The Ministry of Health publication Our Children’s Health: Key findings on the health of New Zealand Children (1998) identified injuries as the leading cause of death and the second leading cause of hospitalisation of children over one year in New Zealand. The Child Health Programme Review (1998) examined overseas and New Zealand evidence of effectiveness of preventive interventions in a range of child health areas including unintentional injuries. Prevention of childhood injuries was identified as one of four key areas in which additional effective interventions would improve health gains for children in New Zealand. Last year the Ministry of Health undertook a survey of individuals and organisations actively involved in childhood injury prevention (excluding violence and sporting injuries). The primary purpose of the survey was to identify barriers to the implementation of injury prevention strategies.

Fifty responses from a range of government and non-government organisations were received with organisations responding being involved in either specific or general childhood injury prevention activities.

Barriers to progress: These were classified as follows:

1. Lack of co-ordination, co-operation and shared strategy. This barrier was the most consistently reported and was included by almost all respondents.
   
2. Lack of priority placed on childhood injury prevention - resource issues - awareness issues. Childhood injury prevention was seen as not receiving the priority it deserves. A lack of political ‘voice’ and decision maker awareness, a lack of recognition of the issue within the community, and a lack of prioritisation for resourcing were some of the reasons suggested for the lack of child injury prevention prioritisation.
   
3. Lack of consistency and sustainability: A number of respondents commented on the need for messages to be delivered regularly and repeated. One off campaigns are of limited value. Funding was reported as often being short term in nature and provided on a one off programme basis. Information, whether it is to children themselves, to parents, to decision-makers or to policy makers, needs to be accurate, consistent with other messages about the same topic and sustained over successive generations of recipients.
   
4. Data issues: Respondents consistently drew attention to the fact that there are serious limitations attached to data presently collected. There is data collected on causes of death and hospitalisation but unsatisfactory coding practices are sometimes thought to exist. The ‘free text’ field is of limited value in providing information about circumstances contributing to an accident occurring. Any other data collection, which occurs, is topic specific or locality specific and not aggregated on a regional or national basis. There is lack of information about injuries treated in primary services and in emergency departments.
   
5. Effectiveness and evaluation: Some respondents expressed concern about the undue emphasis placed on public education and health education. Others, particularly those involved in research, expressed concern about the absence of compelling evidence of what works and report that interventions can be based on minimal or non-existent data on the attributable risk associated with a factor. A reluctance to invest in evaluation was noted. There was seen to be a lack of practical examples of best practice in injury prevention.
   
6. Attitudes: In addition to the lack of priority placed on child related issues, and injury prevention in particular, a number of attitudinal matters were identified by respondents as barriers to reducing child injury rates. Unrealistic funder expectations, victim blaming, a ‘lack of will’ to treat injury and injury solutions seriously, safety being seen as ‘boring’ and a perception that injuries are a normal ‘part of growing up’ were all highlighted as attitudinal barriers.
   
7. Determinants of health: Poverty was seen as a barrier to making improvements in child injury prevention. It was thought to negatively affect injury prevention due to individual families and communities safety issues being neglected because of more pressing needs, and the cost factors involved in complying with safety regulations and creating safe environments. Other determinants of health issues were reported were the lack of culturally effective resources and the minimising of Maori statistics.
   
8. Staff training and skills: Respondents consistently identified workforce development as a barrier to injury prevention improvements particularly for those developing or delivering injury programmes as part or their entire role. Lack of training and lack of up-skilling opportunities were reported. There is no career path or accredited training available for those who work directly in injury prevention.
   
9. Legislation and regulation issues: Some of these are specific and some general. The general issues identified were a failure to monitor and enforce regulations, and a failure to comply with regulations. A desire on the part of some respondents to see more regulation and enforcement of compliance rather than the present trend, which is seen to devolve responsibility, was highlighted. Specific problems raised are around safety standards, child resistant packaging requirements and consumer product safety legislation.
   
10. The complexity of the problems: Some respondents noted the tendency to want to understand the cause of an ‘accident’ as a simple cause and effect one rather than take into account the complex interaction of people and their environments that are involved when injuries occur. Likewise there is a desire to understand barriers simply when in fact personal, social, economic and political factors may all play a part in inhibiting action on what might seem to be a simple measure.

Conclusions: Similar exercises to this one have been done before and indicate that the barriers to progress are not new. There is now perhaps a much greater emphasis on the need for intersectoral and interagency co-operation than was previous expressed. There is also a clear recognition of the need for co-operative planning and priority setting in order to overcome barriers and promote sustained and consistent messages to children, parents, the public, policy makers and planners. The other significant development is an increased demand for evaluation and evidence of effectiveness. The development of a ‘childhood injury prevention network’ was discussed and a process to develop it was set up at the Community Injury Prevention conference held in Waitakere in April. Once this is up and running a number of the problems identified above will be addressed to some extent. There is still work to be done to address others.

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STANDARDS NZ - A NEW PARTNER FOR KIDSAFE WEEK "Standards, both voluntary and mandatory, play a vital part in keeping New Zealand kids safe, and Standards NZ are an important strategic partner in child injury prevention", says Shelley Hanifan, Safekids Director. Standards New Zealand has provided the following information about the role of Standards in New Zealand society and in keeping children and others safe.

 

AN OVERVIEW OF THE ROLE OF STANDARDS NZ Provided by Gary Hartley (Communication Strategist for Standards NZ) In essence, a decision to use a standard or suite of standards, is a risk management decision - in its broadest sense. Issues of personal safety have gained momentum in recent years and perhaps none more so than child safety. With a portfolio of over 6000 products, many of which focus on issues of safety, and specifically child safety, Standards New Zealand provides all New Zealanders, irrespective of age or situation, with a level of assurance that most risk is, in fact, manageable. Increasingly, Standards New Zealand has been instrumental in developing standards and guidelines spanning a broad spectrum of areas for child safety, ranging from playground safety to child-resistant cigarette lighters; from low fire danger night clothing to specifications for safe toys. The list is extensive (but by no means exhaustive) and the importance of our development expertise is becoming increasingly sought after, as organisations become more aware of the issues of safety and responsibility. One example of the safety role that is played by Standards NZ is presently being completed. In the area of electrical safety, Standards New Zealand is set to launch its new innovative handbook on Safer electrical installations for the elderly, children and people with disabilities in July.

Safekids is delighted to announce that Standards NZ have joined the national planning group for Kidsafe Week! Standards NZ are particularly keen to support the sub theme of electrical safety, and to promote a safer electrical environment in the home.

"By joining the other key agencies in Kidsafe Week, Standards NZ are clearly demonstrating their commitment to child safety," says Sue Kendall, National Kidsafe Week Co-ordinator. "Their input and involvement will bring a great deal to the Week."

"Our decision to become involved in the Kidsafe programme, provides an opportunity for the organisation to work in partnership with other groups to make the environments in which we live more safe, prosperous and quite simply, more convenient," says Gary. "We are looking forward to our involvement in Kidsafe Week!"

Gary is involved in Kidsafe Week, both at a national planning level, and also with the Wellington Coalition, in which he has chosen to take an active role.

EVALUATING THE ‘IMPACT’ OF KIDSAFE WEEK

Each year, after concluding all their Kidsafe Week activity, coalitions have filled out an extensive Kidsafe Week Coalition Evaluation. Safekids have regularly provided bribes to encourage coalitions, tired out from all of the work of Kidsafe Week, to complete this important task. Each year we been extremely impressed with the amount of time and effort which coalitions put into completing these highly professional, well presented documents, and even more impressed with the work which these documents describe!

The Kidsafe Week Coalition Evaluations have provided essential information about how the Week worked in your communities. These Evaluations have sought to capture ‘process’ information on Kidsafe Week, including the work of the coalition, the agencies involved, the hours spent and the activities organised. This information has been extremely useful, both for improving the Week for coalitions, and also for encouraging funders to be involved with the Week. The coalition evaluations which have been received over the last three years have also formed the basis for the ‘Future of Kidsafe Week: Discussion Document’ which was released by Safekids earlier this year, and they will form the foundation of the ‘Kidsafe Week Strategic Plan’.

This year, in addition to the Kidsafe Week Coalition Process Evaluation, the Health Funding Authority have provided funding to allow for an ‘impact’ evaluation system to be set up by the Injury Prevention Research Centre. This evaluation will target several communities in order to evaluate the ‘impact’ of Kidsafe Week on these communities. Specifically, the evaluation will consider the uptake of key messages by the community and the awareness which target groups have about Kidsafe Week, and its themes and key messages. This type of evaluation is particularly important to funders and sponsors, as it provides a powerful justification for their input and involvement in the Week.

"We welcome the opportunity to work with Dr Carolyn Coggin of the Injury Prevention Research Centre, and the others involved in organising the evaluation", says Shelley Hanifan, Safekids Director. "We have been really impressed with the work which Carol and her team have done with the evaluation of the Safe Waitakere Pilot, and we are expecting to learn a great deal from them."

The Kidsafe Week Community Impact Evaluation will involve extended case studies using face to face interviews, telephone interviews, postal questionnaires and focus groups. It will be designed to compliment the existing Kidsafe Week Coalition Process Evaluation which coalitions complete each year. Quite soon, your coalition may be approached by the evaluation team, who will ask for your permission, and your assistance, for them to complete a community impact evaluation in your area. We encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity, and to get some national profile for the great work that your coalition completes locally!

Key results of the community impact evaluation will be published in future editions of Safekids News.

KIDSAFE WEEK COALITION IN ASHBURTON - WORKING TO MAKE A BIG "SPLASH" DURING KIDSAFE WEEK 1999

The Kidsafe Week Coalition in Ashburton, co-ordinated by Jackie Girvan, is well advanced with their planning for Kidsafe Week. Jackie is a Health Promoter with Crown Public Health, based in Ashburton and has been involved with Kidsafe Week since the very first year. She has successfully worked within her community to help built a Kidsafe Coalition, which is 13 members strong. The coalition includes representatives from ACC; Plunket; Ashburton Hospital; NZ Police; NZ Fire Service; Ambulance; the General Practitioners Association; the School Principals Association; Pre-schools and the Ashburton District Council, as well as two Road Safety Co-ordinators and Public Health Nurses.

This year, as always, the Ashburton Coalition have great plans to raise public awareness and promote child injury prevention during Kidsafe Week within the Ashburton community. The Ashburton Coalition are focusing their promotional activities on the two main themes of Kidsafe Week, water safety and pedestrian safety around schools, and have two very active subgroups working on these themes. "Because of the water safety theme, we have a new representative on our coalition from the Ashburton Community Pool. Rod Carter, the local Pool Manager, is a great asset, as he has new and innovative ideas for promoting water safety during the Week - and he has us fired us with his enthusiasm!" says Jackie.

Jackie Girvan, Kidsafe Week Co-ordinator (Ashburton) holds the Kidsafe Week 1998 Poster.

Residents of Ashburton will certainly be made aware of the water safety theme of Kidsafe Week, as the water safety subgroup of the coalition are planning a street parade, involving local school children, and water safety organisations. The parade will follow a path through the main street, and will conclude at the local community pool, where children will be able to have a free swim. In fact, the pool will also be involved in promoting the water safety aspects of Kidsafe Week, throughout the Week, by providing special swimming lessons for kids in Ashburton.

The road safety sub-group of the coalition is also planning lots of high profile activity! The local Police and Plunket members are planning to hold a series of seat belt checkpoints. A new road safety co-ordinator is currently being appointed and the Kidsafe Week promotion will be one of the first priorities.

As well as these specific theme areas, the Kidsafe Week Coalition are also actively promoting child safety as an issue beyond the Week. They have just secured editorial space in a weekly local paper and will run a monthly column on child safety, focusing on different issues each month. The coalition are also negotiating with the Ashburton District Council to hold a forum for children, so that the Councillors can be made more aware of kids concerns about their safety.

"The Ashburton Coalition provide an excellent example of what Kidsafe Week is all about" say Sue Kendall, Kidsafe Week National Co-ordinator. "They have a well established intersectoral coalition, ensuring excellent community support, and they are focusing their efforts on both short and long term strategies to keep their kids safe".

This photo was taken during Kidsafe Week 1998 in Ashburton, where Plunket and Police worked together to check the use of car restraints. It shows four-year-old Chloe Batchelor earning some stickers, and the chance to enter a draw for a booster car seat or a basket of safety items, when she arrived at Hampstead Kindergarten safely restrained. Also shown are Nicky Armstrong (centre) and Jane Hart, both of Plunket. During the Week, Jane Hart also won an Outstanding Achievement Award for her contribution to child safety over more than thirty years, most recently as Plunket Safety Officer for Allenton and as the Kidsafe Week Co-ordinator for Plunket in the area. Congratulations for your excellent work Jane!

 

AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST...

HOUSING NEW ZEALAND INSTALLS SMOKE ALARMS

Doug Spick (Programme Manager, Housing New Zealand) has provided this article for Safekids News, to update the child injury prevention workforce on the Housing New Zealand Smoke Alarm Programme.

In August 1998, Housing New Zealand commenced the final stage of a programme to install smoke alarms in each bedroom, living room and hallway in all its properties. Those properties that had previously been fitted with smoke alarms at a lesser coverage level were also being brought up to the new standard. It is expected that this project will be substantively complete by May 1999.

Housing New Zealand is seeking to enhance the safety and well being of its tenants by installing smoke alarms. While the smoke alarms will not prevent fires, they will assist in early detection of fires and therefore minimise the risk of injury or death for tenants. As part of the programme, fire prevention and safety information is also being provided to the tenants.

This programme is a continuation of earlier fire safety work completed by Housing New Zealand. Housing New Zealand has been working with the Fire Service in the development of this programme and supports the Fire Service’s "Fire Safety" campaign.

The smoke alarms chosen by Housing New Zealand are the Lifesaver 0916LL. They are an ionisation type with a 10-year lithium battery. Generally, they are ceiling mounted with a 85 decibel alarm, have a "hush" facility for false alarms, a separate test switch, are tamperproof and are UL217 listed.

Housing New Zealand selected these alarms because of two particular features. The 10 year life lithium battery will last for the same duration as a mains-wired smoke alarm, and the separate "hush" facility will benefit our customers who might otherwise be inconvenienced by false alarms.

While Housing New Zealand has installed the alarms, fire safety in the home remains the primary responsibility of the tenant. Because of this, cleaning and testing the alarms is the responsibility of the tenant and instructions have been provided to tenants as part of the installation programme.

Throughout the installation programme, stories have been surfacing where the provision of smoke alarms has saved tenants. The alarms in bedrooms have proved particularly worthwhile in saving the lives of small children. Housing New Zealand is aware of incidents where children have been playing with lighters or matches in their bedrooms and fires have resulted. Smoke alarms have alerted adults in the house and tragedy has been averted.

Safekids congratulates Housing New Zealand for this programme, which will see the fire safety of its child tenants greatly improved. This is a positive model of shared responsibility for child safety, with Housing New Zealand carrying the cost of purchase and installation of a number of smoke alarms for each house. Parents will also have a role, in maintaining the smoke alarms, and the information about how to do so is being provided along with other fire safety information. Safekids also congratulates Housing New Zealand for the choice of smoke alarm that has been made. Excellent work Housing New Zealand! It’d be great to see other landlords taking this kind of action, and to see this model of shared responsibility extended into other areas important for child tenant safety.

SAFEKIDS NEWS ACTION NOTE: If you’d like to write to Housing New Zealand to congratulate them for their excellent work in this area, please write directly to Doug Spick, Programme Manager, Investment Management Group, Housing New Zealand, Private Bag 76 913, Manukau City.

 

Looking forward to the next edition… In the next edition of Safekids News, look for information on safe hot household water delivery, child resistant lighters, child pedestrian injuries and other child injury prevention issues.

 

A Philosophical Question: If ‘misuse’ is more common than good use – then is ‘misuse’ common practice? If ‘common practice’ is wrong for an object – then is it the practice or the object, which is the problem?

YOUR FEEDBACK! Thanks to all of you who provided feedback on the last edition of Safekids News! All the feedback provided was positive, with people feeling that the content of Safekids News was relevant to them in their work. The Action Notes were found to be useful by all those who provided feedback, and it seemed that many readers were hoping to undertake some of the recommended action! Suggested areas for improvement in the feedback tended to be around breaking up the text a bit more, with more cartoons and photographs. We have only just finished the analysis of the comments which you sent in, and those of you with that concern may find that this issue is not that much improved. However, we are considering expanding Safekids News from eight pages to twelve in the next issue. This will give us a great deal more room for photos, cartoons and other bits and pieces, while still providing enough space for all the information which we want to give you! The two people who won the $100 book vouchers in a draw were: Liz Cutler, a Health Promoter and Dietician from Crown Public Health in Timaru, and Anna Kenny, a teacher at Northcross Intermediate School in Browns Bay, North Shore City.

 

We welcome your contribution to Safekids News. If there is an issue, information or programme which you’d like to tell other child injury prevention people about, just call Shelley to discuss it in Safekids News on (09) 820 1194