INJURY CONTROLUpdate

A Publication of the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

CDC

CENTERS FOR DISEASE CONTROL

AND PREVENTION

Department of Health & Human Services

Summer 2000

Volume 3 ■ Number 1

In this country, a fire

occurs every minute,

someone dies in a

motor-vehicle crash

every 15 minutes, and

more than 3 million

children are taken to

the emergency room

each year for

fall-related injuries.

What’s the

problem?

A national program of injury control

Each year, nearly 150,000 Americans

die from injuries; in fact, injury is the

leading cause of death and disability

among children and young adults in this

country.

Consider these facts:

■ Every minute, a potentially fatal home

fire starts. ■ Every fifteen minutes, someone dies in a

motor-vehicle crash. ■ On an average day, 17 young people are

murdered. ■ Each year, more than 3 million children

are treated in emergency departments for

injuries from falls.

A partnership for safety

SafeUSATM is an alliance of public and private organizations committed to reducing

injuries and increasing the public’s sense of

personal and community safety. Begun in

1995 by the National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (part of the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention) and its

partners, SafeUSATM maximizes the unique

strengths of each partner and minimizes

duplication of effort. The result—complementary programs that strengthen the overall

injury-prevention movement.

The SafeUSATM vision

Although research has shown that injuries

can be prevented, many Americans still

believe that injuries are “accidents,” unpredictable acts of fate beyond their control. The

vision of SafeUSATM is to change the way

people think about injuries. People must

believe that they can do something to make

safety a reality.

The goal of SafeUSATM is to help

Americans be—

■ Safe at home from injuries resulting

from fires, falls, poisonings, drowning,

child abuse, and intimate partner violence. ■ Safe on the move from injuries caused

by motor-vehicle, bicycle, and motorcycle

crashes and from injuries sustained as

pedestrians. ■ Safe at school from injuries sustained

on the playground, while playing sports,

and as a result of youth violence. ■ Safe at work from injuries related to

environmental hazards, equipment, and

working conditions. ■ Safe in the

community

from violence

and from unintentional injuries

caused by falls,

fires, and drowning in public

places. Safety in

the community

also involves

prompt and

appropriate

responses from

emergency

medical systems,

911 operators
Injury Control Update 2 ■ Summer 2000

and dispatchers, poison control centers,

and trauma care systems when injuries

do occur.

Champions for safety through

science

Over the past few years, the Partnership

Council—SafeUSATM’s governing body—has

worked to define SafeUSATM’s role and set

principles to guide its activities. As determined by the council, SafeUSATM partners

will serve as “champions for safety through

science,” striving to create and maintain—

■ A nationwide safety movement in which

communities across the country have in

place programs to prevent injuries and

promote the safety of their citizens. ■ Programs based on principles and practices that have been evaluated through

scientific research. ■ Activities that address both unintentional injuries and injuries related to

violence.

Key

Activities

One of SafeUSATM’s goals is to provide

information and guidance that will

help individuals and organizations

increase personal and community safety.

Information clearinghouse

Through a web site and information hotline,

SafeUSATM provides “one-stop shopping” for

important safety materials developed by

partners.

SafeUSA web site (www.cdc/gov/

safeusa). The SafeUSATM web site provides

information on a range of safety topics and

links users to organizations with additional

information on those topics. The web materials, compiled from SafeUSATM partners, are

continuously updated to reflect new findings,

offer seasonal safety tips, and highlight

partners’ activities.

SafeUSATM hotline (888-252-7751 or

TTY 800-243-7012). This toll-free hotline

provides recorded messages on popular

safety topics, free safety publications, and a

fax-on-demand service that provides 24-hour

access to numerous SafeUSATM fact sheets

(in June, many fact sheets will be available

in Spanish). Monday through Friday, from

8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time, callers can

also speak with trained information specialists.

A real-life example

of prevention

John M. lives in an historic section of

Oklahoma City, where the homes

are old and, in most cases, so are

their heating systems. One Saturday

morning, John answered his door to find a

woman accompanied by two firefighters.

“Do you have a smoke detector in this

house?” she asked. “An ornamental one,”

John laughingly answered, “that’s probably as old as I am.” After the group

installed a brand new one free of charge,

John thanked them and promptly forgot

all about it. A few months later, he was

awakened very early by a sound he didn’t

recognize. When he opened his bedroom

door, John found the house full of smoke

and the new smoke detector in the hallway blaring away. He was able to extinguish the fire in the living room and get

his invalid grandmother out safely. “If it

hadn’t been for that smoke detector, we

would surely have lost our lives,” John

later said. “The fire chief told me that in 2

more minutes the entire house would have

gone up in flames.” The working smoke

detector in the hallway had done its job.

Overall, this smoke-detector distribution program in Oklahoma reduced burnrelated injuries 83 percent. ■
3 Injury Control Update ■ Summer 2000

To promote the web site and hotline,

SafeUSATM has partnered with other organizations, including McDonald’s Corporation.

In May 1999, the restaurant chain’s Happy

Meals featured a summer safety brochure

with tips on topics such as swimming and

biking safety. The brochures referred readers

to the SafeUSATM web site for more information. In September 1999, Happy Meals

included a home and fire safety brochure,

which McDonald’s developed with information provided by CDC and the National Fire

Protection Association, another SafeUSATM

partner. The launch of the safety hotline was

publicized in that brochure.

SafeUSATM has also partnered with

television producers to promote its injuryprevention materials. On November 19,

1999, the United Paramount Network (UPN)

aired a documentary called The Teen Files:

The Truth about Violence, which featured the

SafeUSATM hotline number. CDC and other

partners trained hotline operators to answer

violence-related calls from the program’s

viewers.

SafeUSATM Handbook

The SafeUSATM Partnership Council is

developing a handbook to provide communities with—

■ Current injury-prevention strategies. ■ Characteristics of successful or promising safety programs and interventions. ■ A variety of safety-related resources.

To ensure that the handbook is helpful

and user-friendly, a prototype is being tested

extensively with potential users, including

both injury professionals and members of

community organizations. The handbook will

be available in print and on the Internet.

SafeUSATM hotline: 888-252-7751

TTY: 800-243-7012

SafeUSA web site:

www.cdc.gov/safeusa

Partners

Each SafeUSATM member organization

is dedicated to reducing injuries and

related deaths and disabilities in the

United States and to increasing the level of

safety in our nation’s homes, schools, work

places, transportation areas, and communities. Each member participates in the

SafeUSATM activities that support its own

organizational objectives.

The following organizations are members

of the SafeUSATM Partnership Council:

Federal organizations

■ Department of Health and Human Services (Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, Health Resources and Services Administration, and Indian Health

Service) ■ Department of Defense ■ Department of Education ■ Department of Justice ■ Department of Transportation ■ U.S. Consumer Product Safety

Commission

Private nonprofit & professional

organizations

■ American Academy of Pediatrics ■ American Psychological Association ■ American Trauma Society ■ Boys and Girls Clubs of America ■ Brain Injury Association ■ Children’s Safety Network ■ Collaborative Center for Child Well-Being ■ National Fire Protection Association ■ National Program for Playground Safety ■ National Resource Center on Domestic

Violence ■ National SAFE KIDS Campaign ■ National Safety Council ■ Safe America Foundation
Injury Control Update 4 ■ Summer 2000

Web-based injury mortality data

available interactively!

Special partners

■ Injury Control Research Centers (funded

by NCIPC) ■ State and Territorial Injury Prevention

Directors Association ■

Save the date!

The SafeUSATM National

Conference will be held

December 3-5, 2001, in

Atlanta, GA.

Watch for details.

state, and geographic region. You can specify

age by standard age groupings, single year of

age, or user-selected age groups (e.g., ages

13-17). Injury-mortality data can be requested by standard external cause of injury

groupings (e.g., motor vehicle traffic, fall,

poisoning) and/or intent of injury categories

(e.g., unintentional, homicide, suicide). It is

not necessary to know the associated Ecodes. For Leading Causes of Death charts, you

can rank up to 20 causes of death by selected

age groupings.

To give WISQARSTM a try, simply go to

the web site. If at any time you’re unsure

about a feature, just click on “Help.” Your

feedback is welcome; click on “Contact Us”

and tell us what you think, whether positive

or negative. You may also ask us questions

through this link. We hope you find these

data useful for your injury prevention and

control activities.

POC: Mr. Steve James, Office of Statistics and Programming, 770-488-4269,

spj1@cdc.gov ■

NCIPC’s Office of Statistics and

Programming is proud to announce

the introduction of WISQARSTM

(Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and

Reporting System), pronounced “whiskers.”

Available on the NCIPC web page at

www.cdc.gov/ncipc/wisqars, WISQARSTM

enables you to generate customized Injury

Mortality and Leading Causes of Death

reports using data from NCHS’s National

Vital Statistics System.

Through WISQARSTM, you can readily

obtain numbers of deaths, crude death rates,

and age-adjusted death rates by the following characteristics:

age, sex, Hispanic

origin, race (including white,

black, American

Indian/Alaskan

Native, and

Asian/Pacific

Islander as

distinct

categories),
5 Injury Control Update ■ Summer 2000

A nationwide plan for

poison-control centers

To increase availability of poisoncontrol-center (PCC) services

and raise public awareness, CDC’s

National Center for Injury Prevention and

Control (NCIPC) and the Health Resources

and Services Administration (HRSA) funded

a grant to the American Association of Poison

Control Centers (AAPCC), a professional

organization composed of centers in the

United States. The grant, which will provide

about $1 million a year over 3 years, will

allow AAPCC to establish a nationwide tollfree number for poison-control centers and

develop a campaign to educate the public

about PCCs.

AAPCC will build a telecommunications

system with contingency plans for network

failure and disasters; the system will expand

in call capacity and functionality over time.

AAPCC will also develop, implement, and

evaluate a public-education program and

media campaign to introduce Americans to

the nationwide number and acquaint them

with the services that poison-control centers

provide. Because more than half of poisoning

exposures occur among children under age 6,

the campaign will target caregivers of young

children. Materials will also be developed to

address the needs of teen and adult poisoning

victims. The campaign will integrate both

national and local activities.

In February, Congress enacted the Poison

Control Center Enhancement and Awareness

Act, which authorizes the Department of

Health and Human Services—of which CDC

and HRSA are a part—to provide $27.6

million to support these activities. Of these

funds, $25 million can be used to establish a

grant program to increase financial stability

among PCCs; funds can be appropriated for

fiscal years 2000 through 2004. ■

POC: Paul Burlack, DACRRDP,

770-488-4713, pburlack@cdc.gov

Student fellowships

awarded

The Society for Public Health Education

(SOPHE) and CDC’s National Center

for Injury Prevention and Control

recently named Heather A. Jacobsen and

Beth T. Stalvey as SOPHE/CDC Student

Fellows in Unintentional Injury Prevention.

Jacobsen, an MPH student at St. Louis

University, will be evaluating the impact of

tailoring injury-prevention messages for

parents to help prevent childhood injuries.

Stalvey, a Ph.D. candidate in Health Behavior

at the University of Alabama at Birmingham,

will be examining the application of the

transtheoretical model to an educational

program targeting older drivers. As SOPHE/

CDC fellows, both will receive a stipend, a

1-year student membership in SOPHE, and

an opportunity to present their work at the

SOPHE annual meeting in Boston in November.

Honorable mentions went to Kelli England, a Doctoral candidate from Virginia

Tech, who will be using behavioral safety

feedback to train parents about the importance of proper child-safety-seat use; and Ana

Validzic, an MPH student from UNC-Chapel

Hill, who will apply media advocacy and

communication theories to encourage journalists to write stories about injury prevention.

SOPHE/CDC student fellowships are

awarded to support the training of a new

generation of injury-prevention researchers

and practitioners and to fill an important

void in the professional preparation of behavioral scientists and health educators in the

field.

To receive applications and deadline

information about next year’s fellowship

program, contact Dr. David Sleet (770-488-

4652, dds6@cdc.gov) or Ms. Krista Hopkins

(770-488-1012, kjh7@cdc.gov), Division of

Unintentional Injury Prevention, NCIPC. ■
Injury Control Update 6 ■ Summer 2000

Surveillance data

important to TBI

programs

Among the injuries most likely to

result in death or permanent disability are injuries to the brain. Each

year in the United States, about a million

people suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI).

Of them, 230,000 are hospitalized, 80,000 are

disabled, and 50,000 die.

Survivors of TBI often have trouble

remembering, concentrating, making decisions, and controlling impulses. They can also

suffer serious motor, sensory, and emotional

impairments that can not only change education and career goals but also affect relationships with family and friends. However, not

all TBI-related disabilities are readily apparent to others. That’s why TBI has been called

“the invisible epidemic.”

Since 1990, CDC has been helping to

make visible the magnitude and scope of TBI

by supporting TBI surveillance in selected

states. Surveillance tells us how many TBIs

occur, where and how they occur, and what

groups are at highest risk. This information

enables us to make the best use of resources

to prevent brain injuries and to more effectively treat those that do occur. Surveillance

activities also help us locate people who have

sustained TBIs so we can assess their needs

and provide services that will help improve

their quality of life.

So what do states do with the TBI data

they gather? In general, they use it to educate residents and policymakers about TBI,

to develop and target prevention programs,

to improve injury-prevention legislation, and

to deliver services to people with TBI. Let’s

look briefly at a few specifics.

Fostering public awareness

In New York, TBI surveillance revealed a

disturbing number of cases of shaken-baby

syndrome, a specific type of TBI caused by

vigorously shaking an infant or young child.

As a result, officials developed a statewide

educational intervention that public-health

practitioners will use.

Nebraska is merging their TBI surveillance data with Medicaid data to present a

clear picture of the costs of TBI. This information will fuel prevention programs, gain

lawmakers’ attention, and generate more

resources to address the TBI problem.

Targeting prevention efforts

In Louisiana, surveillance data have shown

that 40 percent of TBIs related to all-terrain

vehicles (ATVs) were sustained by passengers. Data also showed a cluster of ATVrelated TBIs in one area in northeast Louisiana. These data enabled officials to target the

specific audience most needing prevention

information. They publicized the dangers of

being an ATV passenger through a hunting

television program and a hunting magazine

in the area of the state most affected by these

injuries.

Oklahoma has collected data on TBIrelated hospitalizations and fatalities since

1992. Analysis of statewide bicycle-related

TBIs showed that rates were highest among

children 5 to 12 years old. These data formed

the basis for a prevention program that

included a helmet giveaway. Each year since

the program was implemented, the number

and severity of TBIs in the targeted age

group has decreased.

Supporting science-based legislation

Injury-prevention legislation is an especially

effective and efficient prevention strategy

because it encourages behavior change

among entire groups rather than individuals.

Data showing the effectiveness of safety

measures in engineering, enforcement, and

regulation have resulted in universal seatbelt and car-seat laws and bike-helmet legislation in many areas.

In Minnesota, a citizens’ action group

asked the state health department for firearm-related TBI data. The group then used

the data to support legislation requiring safe

storage of guns and imposing civil penalties
7 Injury Control Update ■ Summer 2000

and possible jail time on families whose

minor children cause a firearm injury. The

bill passed.

In South Carolina, surveillance data

formed key evidence supporting a bill mandating standardized reporting of the nature

and cause of injury on hospital and emergency department records. These data provide answers to many questions that could

not be answered before, such as, “What effect

does wearing a bicycle helmet have on injury

severity?” South Carolina health officials will

be able to see a much clearer picture of the

financial and societal consequences of TBI,

which can provide a rational basis for appropriate legal or other measures to prevent

these injuries.

Improving delivery of services

Combining surveillance data with contact

information can create registries that let us

monitor what happens to people after they

are injured. Such follow-up registries help

ensure that injured persons receive the

services they need. These registries also help

quantify the long-term costs of TBI.

A Colorado follow-up of people with TBI

found that one-third had a disability a year

after the injury, and one-fourth of those who

were working before they were injured did

not have a job. The state, in conjunction with

Craig Hospital in Denver, is now evaluating

these people’s circumstances 2 years after

injury. These data will support development

of programs and services to help improve

their quality of life.

In South Carolina, TBI surveillance data

led to state programs to improve service

delivery to injured persons. These data also

drive prevention efforts such as child-safetyseat programs and bike-helmet giveaways

that target high-risk youth. South Carolina

is planning follow-up interviews with 1,200

people from their TBI surveillance system.

These interviews will help people with TBI

and their families connect with services in

their communities and will determine their

need for additional services.

POC: David Thurman, MD, MPH,

DACRRDP, 770-488-4715,

dthurman@cdc.gov ■

This booklet was developed by the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention for people with

mild brain injury and their families, caregivers,

friends, and employers. Copies are available at

no charge. In addition, organizations that

provide information or services to persons with

brain injury may order up to 100 copies of the

booklet or a camera-ready copy that allows for

adding local contact information. Call the

National Center for Injury Prevention and

Control toll-free at 888-252-7751, or visit their

web site at www.cdc.gov/ncipc/tbi.
Injury Control Update 8 ■ Summer 2000

Unintentional Injury Youth violence

prevention: A

multi-site approach

“Similar youth-violence prevention interventions taking place at multiple sites simultaneously–what an exciting prospect. This

hasn’t been done in this age group before,”

says Dr. Robin Ikeda, one of the scientific

officers for a recently funded multi-site

youth- violence prevention project.

The CDC has received $10 million to use

over the next 4 years to implement and

evaluate youth-violence prevention programs

in middle schools in North Carolina, Illinois,

Georgia, and Virginia. Principal investigators

from Duke University, University of Illinois

in Chicago, University of Georgia, and Virginia Commonwealth University have begun

working with CDC’s National Center for

Injury Prevention and Control to design,

implement, and evaluate these interventions.

The group’s preliminary plan includes

both school- and family-based interventions

at multiple sites. Schools provide an important avenue for violence-prevention activities, but violence often extends beyond school

boundaries. Since behavior patterns generally begin in and/or are reinforced in the

home, a family-based component to the

program is key.

School-based interventions might include

additions to the curriculum, such as classes

about social-cognitive problem-solving or

how to control anger. Teachers could also be

trained in how to intervene when bullying

occurs or how to deliver a violence-prevention message in an interactive, non-lecturing

fashion.

As for family-based interventions, the

principal investigators and the CDC team

are currently considering offering family

sessions covering topics such as improving

family functioning, meeting developmental

challenges as children enter adolescence, and

fostering academic success.

The group still has many unanswered

questions as they plan this multi-site project.

What is the best design to evaluate intervention effectiveness? Should all students receive all interventions or only students “atrisk” for violence and aggressive behaviors?

How do you define “at-risk”? How do you get

families to come in on a regular basis to meet

in groups? How should teachers be trained to

teach violence prevention? Should the interventions target grades 6, 7, 8, all three, or

just two—and if so, which two?

The principal investigators and CDC will

continue planning and designing the project

this year and hope to be ready for pilot

testing by early 2001.

POC: Robin Ikeda, MD, MPH, Division of

Violence Prevention, 770-488-4764,

rikeda@cdc.gov ■

National nonfatalinjury monitoring

system possible

I

n a recent study, researchers from CDC’s

National Center for Injury Prevention

and Control and the U.S. Consumer

Product Safety Commission demonstrated

that an existing national surveillance system

could be expanded to provide national estimates of all types and causes of injuries

treated in emergency departments (EDs).

The National Electronic Injury Surveillance

System, or NEISS, currently monitors only

consumer-product-related injuries treated in

EDs. Expanding the system would provide

for timely identification of emerging nonfatal-injury problems and continuous monitoring of nonfatal injuries, activities now possible only for fatal injuries.

Advantages of expanding NEISS

Using the NEISS to monitor nonfatal injuries

offers several advantages, among them—

■ Timeliness. The NEISS is able to provide

preliminary surveillance data to end users

within 2 months of data collection.
9 Injury Control Update ■ Summer 2000

■ System sensitivity. The NEISS allows for

detection of emerging injury trends. As a

new injury mechanism is detected, a new

code can be created to enable tracking of

the injury type.

■ Cost-effectiveness. Extending this already existing surveillance system would

be more cost-effective than creating a new

system.

■ New information. The NEISS could

provide important information in addition

to injury diagnosis and external cause. For

example, surveillance data could provide

information about age, sex, intent (i.e.,

unintentional injury, assault, or self-inflicted injury), location where the injury

occurred (such as at home), body part

affected, and whether the person was

hospitalized or treated and released.

Summary

Expanding the NEISS could have significant

implications for injury prevention in the

United States.

“The expansion of NEISS would be valuable for assessing the burden of those injuries that are frequent and severe but not

often fatal,” notes Dr. Kyran Quinlan, one of

the study’s investigators. Data would also

identify high-risk groups and allow for

evaluation of national prevention programs

aimed at nonfatal injuries.

Aware of the findings of this study, the

Committee on Injury Prevention and Control

of the Institute of Medicine has recommended expanding NEISS to increase knowledge of the causes and severity of nonfatal

injuries. For more information about this

study, see the November 1999 issue of Annals

of Emergency Medicine (Quinlan KP, Thompson MP, Annest JL, Peddicord J, Ryan G,

Kessler EP, McDonald AK: “Expanding the

National Electronic Injury Surveillance

System to monitor all nonfatal injuries

treated in U.S. hospital emergency departments”).

POC: Kyran Quinlan, MD, MPH, Division

of Unintentional Injury Prevention,

770-488-4652, kaq0@cdc.gov ■

Preventing falls

among older adults

Television and movie scenes of people

falling down typically are intended to

make us laugh. For millions of older

adults, however, falls are anything but a

laughing matter. Rather, they present a

serious and all too common health risk. In

the United States, one of every three people

65 years and older falls each year. In fact,

falls are the leading cause of injury mortality

among older Americans, accounting for

roughly 9,000 deaths in 1997.

Falls also contribute to serious nonfatal

injuries, such as bone fractures. Indeed, 87

percent of all fractures among older adults

are due to falls. Approximately 212,000 hip

fractures, the most serious fracture, occur

each year among persons 65 years and older.

Further, half of all older people hospitalized

for hip fractures cannot return home or live

independently after their injury.

In addition to causing physical and

emotional suffering, falls are extraordinarily

expensive. In 1994, falls among people 65

years and older cost an estimated $20.2 billion.

Fortunately, many falls and resulting

injuries can be prevented. Dr. Judy Stevens,

an epidemiologist from the Division of Unintentional Injury Prevention (DUIP) at CDC’s

National Center for Injury Prevention and

Control (NCIPC), notes three strategies that

can help prevent older people from falling.

“Regular exercise is important because it can

improve strength, balance, and coordination.

Another is for older adults to review with

their physician or pharmacist all the medications they take to reduce possible side effects

such as grogginess or dizziness. A third

strategy is to make modifications in their

homes to reduce fall hazards. This may

include installing grab bars in bathrooms,

improving lighting, especially on stairs, and

removing items that may cause tripping.”

NCIPC has developed a comprehensive

packet of fall-prevention materials for health

professionals working with older adults. The
Injury Control Update 10 ■ Summer 2000

“Tool Kit to Prevent Senior Falls” contains

fact sheets, graphics, current statistics,

research findings, and a scientifically based

fall-prevention brochure and home-safety

checklist. Last October, 4,000 copies of the

Tool Kit were distributed to state and local

health departments, agencies on aging,

health maintenance organizations, and other

organizations and advocacy groups, such as

the American Association for Retired Persons. The brochure, checklist, and fact sheets

are also available at www.cdc.gov/ncipc.

“The purpose of this Tool Kit is to provide

health professionals with current technical

information and resources about falls and

fall-related injuries that can be incorporated

into new or existing activities to reduce falls

among older adults,” says Sarah Olson,

leader of the Home and Leisure Team, DUIP.

“We hope that these materials will contribute

to efforts to reduce falls and improve the

quality of life for older Americans.”

POC: Judy Stevens, PhD, Division of

Unintentional Injury Prevention,

770-488-4652, jas2@cdc.gov ■

National Resource

Center on Aging

and Injury

The National Resource Center on Aging

and Injury (NRCAI) was established

last fall to increase awareness of and

collect, organize, and evaluate information

about preventing unintentional injuries

among older adults. NRCAI is a joint effort

between the San Diego State University

Center on Aging and the American Society

on Aging and is funded by CDC’s National

Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

NRCAI makes information available through

fact sheets, formal publications, and the

Internet (www.olderadultinjury.org). Target

audiences for this information include older

adults, caretakers, health care professionals,

policy makers, and others concerned about

reducing injuries among older Americans.

The NRCAI can also be reached by calling

619-594-0986.

A fire & falls

prevention program

for older adults

Persons 65 years and older are at

higher risk for injury and death from

falls and fires than the population at

large. To address the problem, the National

Fire Protection Association and the National

Center for Injury Prevention and Control

designed “Remembering When,” a step-bystep curriculum that teaches life-saving

lessons to older adults. The program includes

lesson plans, brochures, fact sheets, game

cards, and more. “Remembering When” can

be ordered from the National Fire Protection

Association at www.nfpa.org or by calling

800-344-3555. The cost of the program is

$52; for NFPA members, the cost is $46.75.

Injury Control Update is a publication

of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

(CDC), National Center for Injury Prevention

and Control (NCIPC).

Director, CDC

Jeffrey P. Koplan, MD, MPH

Acting Director, NCIPC

Stephen B. Thacker, MD, MSc

Editor

Sally A. Yohn

Contributing Writers

Carole A. Craft

Cynthia Powell

Steven Stewart

Krista Hopkins

Direct correspondence to:

National Center for Injury Prevention and Control

MS K-65

4770 Buford Highway, NE

Atlanta, GA 30341-3717

770-488-1506

InjuryControlUpdate@cdc.gov • www.cdc.gov/ncipc
11 Injury Control Update ■ Summer 2000

Resources You Can Use

Helpful web sites

Family Violence Prevention Fund

www.fvpf.org

The Family Violence Prevention Fund

(FVPF) is a national nonprofit organization

dedicated to the elimination of domestic

violence. The goal of the FVPF is to create a

society in which domestic violence is not

acceptable, tolerated, nor excused. Toward

this end, the FVPF is committed to mobilizing concerned individuals; allied professionals; women’s rights, civil rights, and other

social justice organizations; and children’s

groups to join the campaign to end domestic

violence against all women and children.

This will be accomplished through public

education/prevention campaigns, public

policy reform, model training, advocacy

programs, and organizing.

National Fire Protection Association

www.nfpa.org

The National Fire Protection Association

(NFPA) works to reduce the burden of fire on

the quality of life by advocating scientificbased consensus codes and standards, research, and education on fire and related

safety issues. NFPA produces a wide range of

literature, including handbooks, films, brochures, codes and standards, and computer

software. The web site contains the latest

information about NFPA departments,

publications, seminars, and educational

programs.

National Injury and Violence

Prevention Resource Center

www.edc.org/HHD/csn

The Children’s Safety Network (CSN) provides resources and technical assistance to

maternal- and child-health agencies and

other organizations seeking to reduce unintentional injuries and violence to children

and adolescents. This web site contains

publications and resources produced by CSN

and other Education Development Center

injury-prevention projects. Several of them

can be obtained directly from this site.

Others can be ordered from the National

Maternal and Child Health Clearinghouse

at www.nmchc.org or by contacting CSN

directly.

Spinal Cord Injury Resources

www.eskimo.com/~jlubin/disabled/

sci.htm

This web site contains an extensive listing

of—

■ General resources on spinal-cord injury.

■ Treatment and rehabilitation centers.

■ Research for treatment and cure.

■ Bulletin boards and chat rooms.

■ Newsletters and magazines.

■ Articles and pamphlets.

■ Books to buy.

Unintentional Injury Prevention

www.sophe.org/Unintentional-Injury/

index.html

In recognition of the important role that

behavioral science plays in injury prevention,

this web site is dedicated to the intersection

between behavioral science, health education, and unintentional injury prevention.

Launched by the Society for Public Health

Education in partnership with the Association of State and Territorial Directors of

Health Promotion and Public Health Education and CDC’s National Center for Injury

Prevention and Control, the site helps bridge

the gap between injury prevention and

health education. It includes general information, tips for program evaluation, funding

and fellowship sources, networking contacts,

seminar summaries, meeting and conference

announcements, and sample abstracts of

behavioral research from the field. The site

also provides links to CDC Injury Prevention

Research Centers, located in universities

throughout the country.
Calendar of Events

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH

& HUMAN SERVICES

Public Health Service

Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention (CDC)

Atlanta, Georgia 30333

OFFICIAL BUSINESS

Penalty for Private Use $300

Return Service Requested

Conferences

To add a conference to this list, e-mail information to

InjuryControlUpdate@cdc.gov or fax to Injury Control Update at

770-488-1667.

14th Annual California Conference on Childhood Injury

Control, October 22-25, 2000

This conference is designed to update public health and public

safety professionals, nurses, physicians, and injury-prevention

advocates on current issues and future directions in injury

epidemiology, public policy, and injury-prevention strategies.

Contact: California Center for Childhood Injury Prevention,

San Diego State University, 6505 Alvarado Road, Suite 208,

San Diego, CA 92120 (619-594-3691, www.cccip.org)

National observances

The following are observances sponsored by SafeUSATM partners.

For mailing addresses and other contact information not listed

here, go to www.cdc.gov/ncipc/injobsrv.htm. That site also lists

other national injury-related observances.

2000: Get to School Safely Year

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

Contact: Laurie Miller, 202-366-9835

May 2000: National Trauma Awareness Month

American Trauma Society

Contact: Public Relations Coordinator, 800-556-7890

www.amtrauma.org

May 2000: National Bike

Safety Month

National Bicycle Safety

Network

www.cdc.gov/ncipc/bike/

month.htm

May 22-29, 2000: Buckle

Up America! Week

National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration

Contact: Tina Fowley,

202-366-9550

www.nhtsa.dot.gov

July 1-4, 2000: Impaired

Driving Enforcement

Mobilization Weekend

National Highway Traffic

Safety Administration

Contact: Sandy Richardson,

202-366-4294

www.nhtsa.dot.gov

In this Issue

SafeUSATM 1

Web-based injury

data 4

Poison-control

activities 5

Student fellowships 5

TBI Surveillance

data 6

Youth violence

prevention 8

Nonfatal-injury

monitoring 8

Falls among

older adults 9

Useful resources 11