National Injury Prevention Day: Raising awareness and showing our support

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Photo courtesy of Texas Children's Hospital

Injuries are the leading cause of death and hospitalization for children 1 to 18 years old. Every day, 20 children die from preventable injuries — resulting in more deaths than all other diseases combined. This is an unfortunate reality for children around the world, in the United States, and especially here in our greater Houston community. The good news is many of these injuries are preventable with the assistance of education, evidenced-based safety practices, proper equipment and the implementation of strong legislation. We know public health strategies to prevent these injuries are working because we have seen a decline in some injury rates over the last decade. Injury rates are still alarmingly high, so now is not the time to slow our efforts. 

On Nov. 18, Texas Children’s Hospital, pediatric trauma centers and child safety advocates around the country will partner to highlight National Injury Prevention Day. The goal of the day is to shine a light on the need for injury prevention to better protect children and recognize the efforts of dedicated child safety advocates. We encourage each of you to participate in Injury Prevention Day, and help us continue to make injury prevention a public priority to save the lives of children. Below are a few ways you can participate:

• Wear green to show your support. The color green signifies positivity and forward motion.
• Have your car seat inspected by a certified Child Passenger Safety Technician. Call our dedicated car seat line at 832-822-2277.
• Use our home safety checklist to identify and remove any hazards in your home that could be potentially dangerous to children of all ages. Encourage your friends and family to do the same.
• Parenting can be hard, especially when combined with other stressful life events. Find a way to cope through self-care techniques (deep breaths, go for a walk) and reach out to emotionally supportive friends, family, or neighbors. Click here to access community resources for additional support.
• Click here to take our Injury Prevention Day Quiz. Share something new you learned on social media with the #BeInjuryFree #TCHIP

Texas Children’s Center for Childhood injury Prevention has provided education and life saving resources in the greater Houston community for over 20 years. In honor of National Injury Prevention Day, our hospital campuses and other city buildings will be lit up in green. We also will host car seat check-up events and distribute injury prevention resources and child safety products to families in our community.

It would not be Injury Prevention Day if I did not pause to thank my colleagues for their hard work and dedication to the profession of injury prevention. Because of their efforts, we have seen a number of successes like a decline in injury rates over the last 20 years, passing of child safety legislation, improvements and increased usage of child safety devices, and more public awareness than ever before. I want to encourage my colleagues to continue to serve as  passionate advocates for their local communities. It is working, and we are making a difference beyond what we may ever know.

Happy Injury Prevention Day!