The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Children’s Farm Injuries Bury a Tradition June 2008

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Safe Kids Canada National injury prevention program of Sick Kids Formed in 1992 by Dr. David Wesson based on a model from the US Knowledge broker – turning research to action Collaborate with partners and key stakeholders to build capacity for injury prevention Advocate for safer environments and standards Corporately funded

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Safe Kids Canada Programs Child passenger, home, pedestrian, rural/farm, recreation, rail Safe Kids Week – annual, national campaign Advocacy and Public Policy bike helmets, booster seats, four-side fencing, ATVs, product safety Communications SAFE TIPS

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Setting the Stage The Picture of Children’s Injuries Agricultural injuries to children are a recurrent problem because of the uniqueness of the environment encompassing work, home, play spaces Variety of injury patterns unique to the agricultural population - diversity of the population children, adults, older adults, workers Rural children are approximately twice as likely to suffer an injury than urban children

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children In Canada, between 1990 and children were killed in agricultural injury events 2,968 children were hospitalized due to traumatic injury Overall, children accounted to 18.8% of all agricultural injury fatalities and 19% of identified hospital cases 70% of fatalities for children under age 7 can be attributed to three mechanisms of injury High risk group includes children of owner-operators Setting the Stage The Picture of Children’s Injuries *All statistics from Canadian Agricultural Injury Surveillance Program

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Setting the Stage The Picture of Children’s Injuries *All statistics from Canadian Agricultural Injury Surveillance Program Fatal agricultural injuries in children and youth by month

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Setting the Stage The Picture of Children’s Injuries *All statistics from Canadian Agricultural Injury Surveillance Program Hospitalized agricultural injuries in children and youth by month

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Setting the Stage The Picture of Children’s Injuries *All statistics from Canadian Agricultural Injury Surveillance Program Fatal agricultural injuries in children and youth by age group and gender

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Setting the Stage The Picture of Children’s Injuries *All statistics from Canadian Agricultural Injury Surveillance Program Hospitalized agricultural injuries in children and youth by age group and gender

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Focus has been on work-related injuries to children - but the reality is that most children injured in an agricultural environment are: males under 6 years and are injured when brought into a farm work site while others are actively engaged in farm work Setting the Stage The Picture of Children’s Injuries

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Setting the Stage The Picture of Children’s Injuries Farming culture plays a significant role Traditions passed from one generation to the next Pressures of farming – economics, time constraints, workload issues Farm work space is not governed by workplace standards or legislation but voluntary standards Would you take your child onto this work site?

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Leading causes of fatalities in Canada: bystander tractor runover extra-rider tractor runover vehicle rollovers drowning Setting the Stage The Picture of Children’s Injuries

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Setting the Stage The Picture of Children’s Injuries Leading causes of hospitalization in Canada: machinery entanglement falls from heights animal-related trauma runover

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Setting the Stage The Picture of Children’s Injuries Common patterns associated with injury risk: Inadequate supervision of small children Permitting children to be in the area of moving or unguarded machinery Allowing children to accompany workers using farm machinery Having children performing work related tasks or non-work related activities inappropriate for their age

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Setting the Stage The Picture of Children’s Injuries We know who Children under six years of age Boys We know why Presence on farm work site Supervision Involved in tasks that aren’t age appropriate

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Setting the Stage The Picture of Children’s Injuries We know how Tractors Runover, rollover, entanglement Drowning Entanglement Animal trauma Falls

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Now What?

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Prevention Strategies Separation of child from work hazards Child care options that are flexible, convenient and accessible Safe spaces to play Age appropriate tasks Adequate supervision Use of safety devices and procedures

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Prevention Strategies Children’s Agricultural Safety Network (CASN) North American campaign focusing on: Posters, PSAs, radio and television spots Launched in Ontario in 2007 with support from the Ministry of Health Promotion Engaged public health units and community groups to deliver the key messages and resources

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Prevention Strategies

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children Prevention Strategies

The National Injury Prevention Program of the Hospital for Sick Children For more information Visit: safekidscanada.ca Call: SAFE TIPS Thank you.