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Injury and Violence Prevention News
Spring 2007
In this issue:
| 1. |
'Does Disability Count?' |
| 2. |
First-ever report on spinal cord injury in Minnesota |
| 3. |
Bike helmet fitting posters available |
| 4. |
Agricultural safety campaign |
| 5. |
The Minnesota Falls Prevention Listserv |
| 6. |
New materials on youth traffic safety |
1. 'Does Disability Count?'
It's the first-ever conference on Minnesota disability data for both data users and providers.
9:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
University of Minnesota Continuing Education and Conference Center
1890 Buford Ave., St. Paul Campus
How many Minnesotans have disabilities?
Who's counting, and why?
What is the economic impact of disability?
How do people define disability?
Those are some of the questions to be discussed at the conference. Co-sponsors are the Brain Injury Association of Minnesota; the Minnesota State Council on Disability; the Minnesota Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities; Pathways to Employment; and the Minnesota Departments of Health, Human Services, and Employment and Economic Development.
Keynote speakers will be Jan Malcolm, executive director, Courage Center; Dr. Andrew Houtenville, Employment and Disability Institute, Cornell University; and Tom Gillaspy, Minnesota state demographer. The program will include a performance by InterAct Theatre, in which artists with disabilities participate.
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2. First-ever report on spinal cord injury in Minnesota
Epidemiology of Hospitalized Spinal Core Injury, Minnesota 1993-2004 http://www.health.state.mn.us/injury/pub/index.cfm?gcPub=injury&gcCategory=sci
is the first publication on that topic by the MDH Injury and Violence Prevention Unit. It describes the extent of SCI during that time period, the leading causes, and where SCI patients were treated after discharge. A few of the findings:
- Of the 2,572 cases of hospitalized SCI between 1992-2004, nine percent died in the hospital. Rates of SCI were higher in Greater Minnesota (5.1 per 100,000 population) than in the Twin Cities metropolitan area (3.9).
- Males were nearly three times more likely to have SCI than females, and the highest rates were among young people ages 15-24 and persons 65 and older.
- Top three causes were motor vehicle crashes, falls, and sports and recreation injuries. At least 20 percent of the individuals used no protective equipment at the time of injury. The report called for prevention activities focusing on males, young drivers, and falls among seniors.
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3. Bike helmet fitting posters available
MDH still has a supply of Bike Helmets: Make Sure They Fit, a tabloid-size poster to help children and their parents fit helmets correctly. The colorful poster features cartoon-like drawings of children with properly and improperly fitted helmets. http://www.health.state.mn.us/injury/pub/helmettabloid.pdf
For free posters, contact Doug Palmer, doug.palmer@health.state.mn.us, 651-201-5484.Top of Page
4. Agricultural safety campaign
Check out this site -- http://www.childagsafety.org/ – from the Childhood Agricultural Safety Network (CASN). It features new "Keep Kids Away from Tractors" resources, including three new ads (one in Spanish) and public service announcements. If you have questions on the campaign, contact Regina Fisher at
1-800-662-6900 or email at fisher.regina@mcrf.mfldclin.eduTop of Page
5. The Minnesota Falls Prevention Listserv
This listserv, to which you can subscribe, is a vehicle for sharing information related to the Minnesota Falls Prevention Initiative, led by the Minnesota Board on Aging in partnership with MDH, the Minnesota Department of Human Services, and numerous public and private organizations.
To subscribe (or unsubscribe) to the listserv, visit:
To post to the listserv, send your message to:
fallsprevention@mailman.stpaul.visi.comTop of Page
6. New materials on youth traffic safety
A new national collaboration, the National Organizations for Youth Safety (NOYS), developed a toolkit on National Youth Traffic Safety Month (May 2007); many of the materials are usable at other times of the year as well. The materials are part of a youth-led campaign to empower youth to support enforcement and traffic safety measures. The traffic safety toolkit <http://www.noys.org/YouthTrafSafe/toolkit.html> includes key messages, project ideas, media templates, and more for interested communities to adapt to meet their particular interests and circumstances.
Other NOYS products include "Speak Out and Make NOYS," a health and safety awareness project planning kit, and "Make Your Parties Rock," a guide to safe and sober event planning. For more information about NOYS, including links to these products and membership opportunities, visit http://www.noys.org/.Top of Page
Also see > National Center for Injury Prevention & Control (NCIPC), at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for the latest injury prevention news at the national-level.
 |
Injury and Violence Prevention Unit
Minnesota Department of Health PO BOX 64882 ST PAUL MN 55164-0882 (651) 201-5484 injury.prevention@health.state.mn.us |
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