Nebraska Injury Prevention and Control News

Issue #50                                  September 2015

 The DHHS Injury Prevention program would like to wish you a happy, safe and healthy Back to School season.

DID YOU KNOW? 

 

Child Passenger Safety

 

There are more than 350 child passenger safety technicians (CPST) in Nebraska. if you have questions about car seats, find a CPST in your area.

Safe Kids reports that 73% of car seats are not used or installed correctly. Test out your car seat safety IQ with this quiz.   

 

Quick Links


Safe Kids NE Events Calendar

 

DHHS Nebraska Injury Prevention and Control Program

  

Nebraskans Saved by the Belt

Share your story today!

 

  

Safety Observances

      

Back to School Month, August 15-September 15 

 

Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over, August 19-September 7 

 

Child Passenger Safety Week (September 13-19, 2015)National Seat Check Saturday (September 19, 2015) 

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 Resources

Check out the Injury Prevention Priority Areas below for resources related to motor vehicle crashes, prescription drug overdose prevention, older adult falls and traumatic brain injury/youth concussions.
 

Injury Prevention in the News

DHHS Fact Sheets Published

The Nebraska DHHS has recently published several factsheets. These reports look at Injury in Nebraska from 2009-2013, Suicide and Self-Inflicted Injury in the state from 2009-2013, and Alcohol and Crash Outcomes in Nebraska. To view a full list of reports visit the DHHS Injury Prevention website.

   

 

Study Finds Driver's Ed Reduces Teen Crashes and Tickets

Researchers at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln followed more than 150,000 teen drivers over eight years and found that driver's education significantly reduces crashes and traffic violations among new drivers. The study focused on Nebraska youth who obtained their provisional permit between 2003 and 2010. The full article can be viewed here.  

 

Video
Safe Kids Nebraska  
Child Passenger Safety Week: 
September 13-19 marks Child Passenger Safety Week. The week's conclusion, September 19, is National Seat Check Saturday. This week is used to educate and encourage parents to be proactive when it comes to their child's safety in the car. Safe Kids' Gary on The Street went out and quizzed people about booster seats in this video. The majority of participants didn't realize kids should be 4'9" before they are ready to graduate from a booster seat to a seatbelt.

Safe Kids Coalitions across the state will be having seat check events during CPS week. Check the Safe Kids Nebraska calendar to find a seat check event in your area
 
Car Seat, Booster Seat, or Seat Belt: Where Does Your Kid Fit?
Road injuries are the leading cause of preventable deaths and injuries to children in the United States. The correct use of a child safety seat can reduce a child's risk of death by  71%. Check out Safe Kids' guide for child safety seats. Safe Kids also provides tips on selecting the right seat for your child and how to properly install a seat in your vehicle.

Pedestrian Safety: How to Not get Hit by a Car
When kids are young, they are taught to look left, right, left before crossing the street, and to cross with an adult. But as they get older, and they are no longer with an adult, they need to learn walking safety goes far beyond looking both ways.

It is surprisingly common for children to get hit while walking. Every day, 44 children are hit by a vehicle while walking in the United States.

Safe Kids Worldwide, with support from FedEx, created a new interactive infographic that provides an engaging demonstration of how crashes happen, and how they can be avoided.

How to Not Get Hit by a Car: 7 Common Ways it Happens & 7 Tips to Keep it from Happening to You highlights seven ways children are getting hit, paired with seven tips to prevent them from happening.

You can learn how to not get hit by a car in less than five minutes with this fun infographic.

Safe Kids Worldwide Video Contest Winners
Safe Kids Worldwide sponsored a video contest for middle school students across the country. The theme: Take Action Against Distraction. The students of Patterson Park Public Charter School in inner city Baltimore were the winners of the contest. The prize: Safe Kids Video team would come out and remake their video with a professional film crew. This is the remake of the winning video. Enjoy! Congrats to all the students, teachers, principals, and especially Karen Hardingham, the local Safe Kids Baltimore coordinator.

Crossing the Stareet
Crossing the Street


Priorities for Nebraska Injury Prevention
Check this section monthly for updates on partner activities, new data, announcements, etc. related to the Nebraska State Injury Prevention Priority Areas (older adult falls, prescription drug poisoning, motor vehicle crashes, and TBI/concussions). Please share your related activities or updates with us at ([email protected]). 
  
Motor Vehicle
New Study Finds Teens' "Fear of Missing Out" is Proving to be Dangerous                           
New Liberty Mutual Insurance and SADD conducted a survey that looked at students "Fear of Missing Out" (FoMO) syndrome, their active "always on" lifestyle, and how those factors impacted them behind the wheel. The study revealed that parents are unintentionally adding to teens distracted driving. You can read the entire press release here
Falls
New Research Finds Link Between Common Medicines and Serious Falls in Older Men
In an article published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, a team of scientists from the UK found a link between common medicines and falls in elderly men.
 
Concussions 
Eye Tracking Technology Helps Diagnose Concussions
According to an article published in Forbes, eye tracking "can detect concussions with sensitivity that is comparable to that of simple blood tests used to diagnose heart attacks." For more information about this new technology click on this link.

CDC Report: Opportunities to Reshape the Culture Around Concussion in Sports
The CDC released a report that  overviews current research on concussion knowledge, awareness, attitudes, and behaviors, and then shared strategies to keep athletes safe. The report can be viewed on the CDC's website
 
Prescription Drug Overdose
E-Cigarette Poisoning
Poison control centers reported a 145% increase in calls involving e-cigarettes and liquid nicotine between 2013 and 2014. For more information on the dangers of e-cigarettes check out the Children's Safety Network's infographic
 
Contact Us
Peg Ogea-Ginsburg, MA 
Injury Prevention Program Coordinator

Jason Kerkman, MPH

Safe Kids Nebraska Coordinator 

[email protected] 


Jeanne Bietz, MA

Motor Vehicle Policy Grant Project Coordinator
 
Ashley Newmyer, MPH, CPH
Epidemiology Surveillance Coordinator
Injury Prevention and Control E-News is a monthly newsletter distributed to partners of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services Injury Prevention and Control Program.
 

Feedback? Email us at [email protected]