Prevent Childhood Injuries!

Dear Colleague:

We are writing to call your attention to new resources from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Injury

Center on child injury prevention.

Unintentional injuries—such as those caused by burns, drowning, falls, poisoning and road traffic—are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality among children in the United States.  Each year, among those 0 to 19 years of age, more than 12,000 people die from unintentional injuries and more than 9 million are treated in emergency departments for nonfatal injuries. In conjunction with the World Health Organization and UNICEF’s joint launch of the World Report on Child Injury Prevention (2008), the CDC’s Injury Center is pleased to announce the release of new resources for the prevention of child injuries in the United States.

• Protect the Ones You Love: Child Injuries Are Preventable. This is a new initiative to raise parents’ awareness about the leading causes of child injury and how they can be prevented. As part of the initiative, the Injury

  Center has developed a number of resources that can be used to help parents to keep their children injury-free, including fact sheets, podcasts, e-cards, and media and event planning guides. Find these and other tools, all available free of charge, at http://www.cdc.gov/safechild/.

· CDC Childhood Injury Report: Patterns of Unintentional Injuries among 0-19 Year olds in the United States, 2000 – 2006. This data report provides an overview of unintentional injuries related to drowning, falls, fires or burns, transportation, poisoning, and suffocation, among others, during the period 2000 to 2006. Results are presented by age group and sex, as well as the geographic distribution of injury death rates by state. Read or download a copy of the report at http://www.cdc.gov/safechild/Child_Injury_Data.htm.

• Child Injury Prevention Video. On December 11, 2008, the Injury

  Center brought together a network of professionals to look at how policy, communications/media outreach, and national and local programs can be used to empower parents in their efforts to protect children. Watch a video of the highlights of the meeting at http://www.cdc.gov/SafeChild/about.htm.

We are asking you to use these resources to educate, build awareness, and promote childhood injury prevention in the United States. Working together, we can keep our children safe and help them live to their full potential. Sincerely,

National

Center for Injury Prevention and ControlCenters for Disease Control and Prevention

National

Center for Injury Prevention and Control