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PREVENTION OF CHILDHOOD ACCIDENTS IN SWEDEN: With Special Attention to the Work of the Joint Committee for Prevention of Accidents
Author(s) -
BERFENSTAM R.
Publication year - 1979
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.1979.tb06166.x
Subject(s) - medicine , occupational safety and health , suicide prevention , human factors and ergonomics , joint (building) , injury prevention , poison control , work (physics) , medical emergency , family medicine , pathology , engineering , mechanical engineering , architectural engineering
. Berfenstam, R. (Department of Social Medicine, University Hospital, Uppsala, Sweden). Prevention of childhood accidents in Sweden. In the industrialized countries accidents constitute one of the greatest threats to children and Sweden was no exception to this. A joint committee was thus formed in 1954 to co‐ordinate preventive work. Official bodies for health and education, safety organizations, some professional groups and voluntary organizations, were members of the Committee from the beginning. The Committee's role has been to stimulate investigations and research in safety, to work for a safer environment through planning and safety regulations and to provide information to parents and other key‐groups. An important part of the preventive effort has been research, which has emphasized the seriousness of the problem and provided a basis for safety work and subsequent information. Information has been channeled through the mass media as well as child welfare centres, schools and local groups which have become involved in safety matters. In order to make the environment safer the Swedish Board for Consumer Policy has a programme to test household equipment. The National Board of Urban Planning has drawn up regulations for the design of homes and their immediate surrounding. There seems to be a better understanding today of this important health problem. A tendency toward a lower number of fatal accidents can also be seen through the last few decades.