Posts Tagged ‘injury prevention’

Improving Physical Activity & Nutrition for Folks with Special Needs

October 10th, 2012

Special Olympics Arizona’s (SOAz) has been a core partner for improving the health of folks with disabilities in Arizona for a long time.  They’ll have an opportunity to take their mission even further as a result of our new partnership between Special Olympics and our Office for Children with Special Health Care Needs to better integrate kids with special health care needs and developmental disabilities into community based sports and recreational and wellness activities like nutrition, physical activity, injury prevention and health advocacy. The initiative tackles and nicely integrates our Winnable Battle of promoting nutrition and physical activity, and the Title V priority of promoting inclusion of children with special health care needs in all aspects of life. 

The new grant award will fund Special Olympics Arizona’s (SOAz) about $440K to execute an evidence-based program called Healthy LEAP (Lifestyle, Education and Practice). It’s a nationally recognized Health Promotion curriculum that focuses on nutrition, physical activity, injury prevention and health advocacy. The new contract builds on the existing capacity of Special Olympics to provide quality physical activity and healthy lifestyle activities for children with cognitive impairment and expand their capacity for collecting and reporting data regarding participant outcomes. Nice leverage point… congratulations!

 

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New Border Health Resources

May 7th, 2012

Obesity, injury prevention, teen pregnancy, and substance abuse are all border health priorities.  Our prevention team put together an inventory identifying current programs addressing these priority areas in AZs border communities.  Our WIC program and Arizona Nutrition Network reach thousands of low-income women and kids along the border- improving nutrition and reducing obesity.  Programs like our Sexual Violence Prevention & Education and Safe Kids coalitions work to address injuries. 

Our women’s and children’s health shop just finished an analysis of  Teen Pregnancy in Border and Non-Border Counties in Arizona.  Teen pregnancy rates along the border have declined significantly in the past decade.   The border counties have higher rates of teen pregnancy among 15-17 year olds, but lower rates among 18-19 year olds compared to non-border counties. 

Also this week…  the national office of the March of Dimes issued a three-year analysis of various maternal and child health indicators in its March of Dimes MCH Border Report.  The report finds that Arizona residents of border communities have lower rates of prenatal care and higher rates of infant mortality than the non-border counties, but have lower preterm birth.

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CDC Releases Road Safety Tool

June 3rd, 2011

Arizona has been able to decrease the rate of deaths from car, truck and motorcycle crashes by 43% in the last 4 years, from about 19 deaths per 100,000 in 2005 to 11 per 100,000 Arizonans in 2009.  While this is good progress, we still have a long way to go.  Crashes are still the leading cause of death for people between 3 and 34, and 710 Arizonans died from vehicle crashes in 2009.  This is a dramatic decrease from 2005 when 1,128 Arizonans died in crashes.  Between 2005 and 2009 Arizona improved roadways, implemented a graduated drivers license for people under 18, and strengthened our DUI laws and enforcement.  More cities are decreasing red light running by various methods including red-light cameras.  Also, our fleet of cars gets safer each year as older vehicles break down and get discarded.

The national trends are going in the right direction as well.  You can read more about this Winnable Battle on the CDC’s website.  You can also visit our injury prevention website and look at the response end of traumatic injury on our trauma site where you’ll find Arizona-specific reports.  Still, there’s a lot of work to be done: seatbelt and child safety seat usage use is only at 80% and speeding and distracted driving remain a problem.

The CDC released some new state specific tools for policy makers and the public to help drive positive change.  The CDC has a new State-specific website where you can download your state’s fact sheet. You’ll also find details about medical and work loss costs for your state.  You can also learn more about your state’s policies related to motor vehicle safety and evidence-based strategies that could address gaps.  Interventions to reduce motor vehicle deaths are multi-sectoral and include p0licy making, highway safety, law enforcement, public health, social marketing, engineering and other disciplines.  Let’s keep this moving in the right direction.

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Safety’s No Accident

April 6th, 2011

For some reason human nature drives us to fear unknown, strange, and seemingly unpredictable hazards more than the commonplace hazards that we face day to day, even though the everyday hazards are a far more important public health risk.  Accidents and injuries are a good example.  Accidents and injuries are hands-down the number 1 killer of people under 44 years old, but we often overlook safety because we face safety risks everyday.

Did you know that (on average) 12 Arizonans die each day from an injury?  There were over 40,000 hospitalizations due to injury in 2009 in Arizona, and over 388,000 emergency department visits.  Many (actually most) injuries are preventable, so it is easy to understand why the CDC has named reduction in motor vehicle crashes as one of its top winnable battles. Many people think that unsafe conditions dominate injury risks, but it’s actually unsafe acts that are most important (and the easiest to correct).  Things like paying attention while you drive, buckling up, and not driving while impaired are probably the easiest and things you can do to improve your chances of seeing another day.

For more than a decade, communities across the country have celebrated National Public Health Week each April by highlighting public achievements and raising awareness of issues important to improving the public’s health.  This year’s theme is “Safety Is No Accident: Live Injury-Free”.  You can help raise awareness of injury and violence prevention in your home and community during National Public Health Week by observing this year’s daily themes:

•           Monday: Injury Prevention Starts at Home – Learn what precautions can be taken at home.

•           Tuesday: Injury Prevention Starts at Work – Conduct safety training, wipe up spills and wear protective equipment.

•           Wednesday: Injury Prevention Starts at Play – Host a sports and recreation-related injury awareness event.

•           Thursday: Injury Prevention Starts on the Move – Remain alert while on the move, wear a seat belt, use child safety seats and don’t use your cell phone while driving.

•           Friday: Injury Prevention Starts in your Community – Work with your neighbors and local officials to address public safety issues.

See the National Public Health Week website for more information on how you can promote injury-free living.

Since 2000, the CDC has supported our efforts to develop an injury surveillance and control process.  As a result, Arizona developed a statewide Injury Prevention and Surveillance Plan, and activated an Injury Prevention Advisory Council.  The Advisory Council:

  • provides recommendations on injury priorities,
  • works together on priority strategies,
  • assists in problem solving,
  • participates in revision and evaluation of the plan, and
  • acts as network of partners from multiple disciplines working toward shared goals of reducing injury in Arizona.

Another avenue to work on injury prevention is through Safe Kids.  Safe Kids Arizona is a state-wide program dedicated to the prevention of unintentional injury for Arizona’s children younger than 15 years of age.  Safe Kids Arizona is a member of the Safe Kids Worldwide.   In Arizona, there are five local Safe Kids Coalitions and one local chapter.

More information on various injury topics can be found at our Injury publications page by clicking on Injury Prevention Factsheets and the Injury Surveillance and Prevention Program.

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Crash Deaths Down in Arizona & Across the US

September 20th, 2010

In Arizona, we’ve been able to decrease the rate of deaths from car, truck and motorcycle crashes by 43% in the last 4 years, from about 19 deaths per 100,000 in 2005 to 11 per 100,000 Arizonans in 2009.  While this is good progress, we still have a long way to go.  Crashes are still the leading cause of death for people between 3 and 34, and 710 Arizonans died from vehicle crashes in 2009.  This is a dramatic decrease from 2005 when 1,128 Arizonans died in crashes.  Rates are highest among males, American Indians, people aged 20 through 24 years, and residents of our rural counties.

How have we made this progress?   Between 2005 and 2009 Arizona improved roadways, implemented a graduated drivers license for people under 18, and strengthened our DUI laws and enforcement.  More cities are decreasing red light running by various methods including red-light cameras.  Also, our fleet of cars gets safer each year as older vehicles break down and get discarded.  Still, there’s a lot of work to be done:  seatbelt and child safety seat usage use is only at 80% and speeding and distracted driving remain a problem.

The national trends are going in the right direction as well.  National highway deaths fell to 33,808 in 2009 which is the lowest number since 1950 (the number of deaths per mile driven is 7 times lower than it was in 1950).  Nationally, alcohol impaired driving fatalities declined by 7.4% in 2009 compared to 2008.  You can read more about this Winnable Battle on the CDC’s website.  You can also visit our injury prevention website and look at the response end of traumatic injury on our trauma site where you’ll find Arizona specific reports.

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Crash Deaths Down in Arizona & Across the US

September 20th, 2010

In Arizona, we’ve been able to decrease the rate of deaths from car, truck and motorcycle crashes by 43% in the last 4 years, from about 19 deaths per 100,000 in 2005 to 11 per 100,000 Arizonans in 2009.  While this is good progress, we still have a long way to go.  Crashes are still the leading cause of death for people between 3 and 34, and 710 Arizonans died from vehicle crashes in 2009.  This is a dramatic decrease from 2005 when 1,128 Arizonans died in crashes.  Rates are highest among males, American Indians, people aged 20 through 24 years, and residents of our rural counties.

How have we made this progress?   Between 2005 and 2009 Arizona improved roadways, implemented a graduated drivers license for people under 18, and strengthened our DUI laws and enforcement.  More cities are decreasing red light running by various methods including red-light cameras.  Also, our fleet of cars gets safer each year as older vehicles break down and get discarded.  Still, there’s a lot of work to be done:  seatbelt and child safety seat usage use is only at 80% and speeding and distracted driving remain a problem.

The national trends are going in the right direction as well.  National highway deaths fell to 33,808 in 2009 which is the lowest number since 1950 (the number of deaths per mile driven is 7 times lower than it was in 1950).  Nationally, alcohol impaired driving fatalities declined by 7.4% in 2009 compared to 2008.  You can read more about this Winnable Battle on the CDC’s website.  You can also visit our injury prevention website and look at the response end of traumatic injury on our trauma site where you’ll find Arizona specific reports.

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“Winnable Public Health Battles” Motor Vehicle Injuries

May 27th, 2010

This week I’m looking at what you are sure to hear a lot about in the coming three years.  The CDC, led by Dr. Thomas Frieden, will be strategically addressing 5 “winnable battles” in public health.  So far, I told you about Healthcare associated infections, childhood obesity and preventing smoking.  We can make a difference in all of these, if people make personal changes.  It is the same with the fourth winnable battle:

4.     Motor Vehicle Injuries

In the US, car crashes are the leading cause of death for people ages 1–34, and nearly 5 million people get injuries that require an emergency department visit each year. The economic impact is huge: car crashes cost around $230 Billion.  Big problems include child passenger safety, teen drivers, impaired driving, distracted driving (e.g. texting, BlackBerrying), speeding, and senior driving.

You can visit our injury prevention website and look at the response end of traumatic injury on our trauma site where you’ll find Arizona specific reports like: Golden Hour by Region ASTR 2005-2008; Mode of Transportation ASTR 2005-2008; Over and Under-Triage Report 2009; Air Ambulance Abstract Final Version Sept09; All-Terrain Vehicle Related Unintentional Injuries Arizona 2003 – 2007; ATV Injuries in Children Fact Sheet;  Helmet Your Child; Trauma Fast Facts – Injuries, Charges, Payor Mix and Cause of Injury by Legislative District and County; MVA Injury Fact Sheet; and Trauma Incidence in Maricopa County by Zip Code.

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