Car seat danger: Babies shouldn't sleep in car seats when not traveling

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends against routine sleeping in sitting devices for infants and a new study shows why.

Car seats are the safest place to be for babies when they’re being driven around, but it’s another story if parents use them as an alternative for a crib or bassinet once they get home.

When infants die while sleeping in sitting devices, almost two-thirds of the cases involve babies slumbering in car seats, a study published Monday in Pediatrics found.

But just a small fraction of those deaths occurred while the infant was in the car, said Dr. Jeffrey Colvin, lead author of the study and a pediatrician at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri.

“It really appeared that the deaths in these car seats occurred in the context where the car seat wasn’t being used for its purpose in transporting a child, but instead it was being used as a substitute for a crib or bassinet,” Colvin told TODAY.

“But they aren’t as safe as a crib or bassinet when the child is out of the car and sleeping … There’s a lack of awareness (about this). I think every parent, including myself, has been guilty of doing this at one time or another.”

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Event: Walk Like MADD Annual Events in Colorado

Join Mothers Against Drunk Driving for their Annual Event: 

Walk Like MADD

Denver - August 3rd

Sloan's Lake Park

Colorado Springs - September 7th

University of Colorado at Colorado Springs

Greeley - September 21st

Promontory Park

With every step taken and each dollar raised, we walk to save lives and support victims and survivors.

Register Today!

Webinar: The Safe Systems Approach to Speed Management: An emerging safety trend in the U.S.

The Safe Systems Approach to Speed Management: 

An emerging safety trend in the U.S. 

June 26, 2019, 1:00 p.m. EDT

Overview

This webinar will cover how the Safe Systems approach started internationally, guides that exist for implementing Safe Systems infrastructure internationally that may be applied in part in the US, international case studies examples that are similar to the US, and current research taking place in the US on implementing the Safe Systems approach here. Participants will learn about what the Safe Systems approach is, existing resources and ways to apply Safe Systems in their work. This webinar will be 1.5 hours and will be a free webinar thanks to funding by the Road to Zero Coalition.

Learning Objectives

• Participants will learn about Safe Systems research and trends emerging in the U.S.
• Participants will hear international organizations with resources on Safe Systems approaches.
• Participants will gain an understanding of how international Safe Systems approaches may be applicable in the U.S.
• Participants will hear from cities applying Safe Systems toward improving safety through speed management and reducing serious injuries and fatalities toward Vision Zero

Register Here

WEBINAR: Exploring how FIMR and CDR teams identify and address disparities

Exploring how FIMR and CDR teams identify and address disparities Wed, June 26, 2019 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM ET

Maternal and infant health inequities and disparities are serious public health concerns that have many social and economic implications, such as poor health outcomes and increased direct and indirect healthcare costs. These disparities are diverse and can exist among different groups, including insured and uninsured populations, urban and rural communities, privately and publicly insured individuals, and racial or ethnic minorities. This webinar will explore how Fetal and Infant Mortality Review (FIMR) teams and Child Death Review (CDR) use the fatality review process to identify and address health disparities and improve maternal, infant, and child health outcomes in their communities.

Register here

FREE COURSE FROM SPRC: Locating and Understanding Data for Suicide Prevention

Course Description
Effectively preventing suicide requires an understanding of who is attempting and dying by suicide, where the problem is most severe, and under what circumstances attempts and suicide deaths occur. But how do you find the data you need to answer these questions and others? Locating and Understanding Data for Suicide Prevention presents a variety of data sources that are useful for finding information about suicide deaths, suicide attempts, and suicidal ideation. This course also explains key concepts that will help you better understand the data you find.

After completing this course, you will be able to:

• Define and understand the difference between suicide deaths, suicide attempts, suicide ideation, and risk and protective factors for suicide.
• Explain key terms that are essential to accurately interpreting data and making meaningful comparisons; this includes counts, rates, and trends.
• Identify some commonly used and readily accessible online national data sources, and the type of data that is available from each source.
• Identify some alternative data sources that may be available in states and communities, the type of data available from these sources, and considerations when approaching organizations and agencies for these data.
• Think critically about the strengths and limitations of a given data source.

Audience
This course is open to anyone. We highly recommend it for any professional involved in national, state or community suicide prevention.

Course Length
This course can be completed in approximately two hours. You do not have to complete the course in one session. You can exit the course at any time and return later to the place where you left off.

Certificate of Completion
To receive a certificate of completion, you must do the following online:  complete each lesson, pass the posttest (passing score is 80% or higher), and answer the feedback survey questions. 

You can earn a certificate of completion once per year for each course.  We do not offer continuing education credits for any of our courses.

Click here to enroll

FREE Conference National Conference on American Indian/Alaska Native Injury and Violence Prevention

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Indian Health Service are pleased to announce that registration is now open for the National Conference on American Indian/Alaska Native Injury and Violence Prevention! The conference will bring together tribal, federal, and state injury prevention practitioners, injury researchers, subject matter experts, and other stakeholders with a goal of Bridging Science, Practice, and Culture to reduce the disparity of injuries among American Indians and Alaska Natives.

Conference Registration

Visit the conference website to register. Registration is free for all attendees. The website contains links to the abstract submission portal, hotel room block, and an overview of the conference agenda. Registration is open through July 15 and is limited to 250 attendees, so be sure to register soon.

Conference Hotel

The conference will take place at the Renaissance Denver Stapleton Hotel, and you can visit the website to make reservations for the group rate of $181/night. This rate is available beginning on Friday, July 19 through Sunday, July 28. Make reservations early, this group rate is only guaranteed through July 1.

Submitting an Abstract

The abstract submission portal is open through Friday, May 24. Click here to submit an abstract for the conference. Abstracts will be accepted for the following conference tracks:

·        Community and Culture

·        Innovative Strategies and Emerging Issues in AI/AN Injury and Violence Prevention

·        Linking Clinical and Community Injury Prevention

·        Program Development and Implementation

·        Program Success, Evaluation, and Continuation

·        Violence and Intentional Injury Prevention

CDC: Newly Available Falls Data

 

Fall Deaths Increase among U.S. Adults Aged 75 Years or Older

A letter published by the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports that the number of fall deaths among U.S. adults aged 75 years or older almost tripled from 2000 to 2016. The study analyzed nationally representative vital statistics data and found that the rate of fall deaths increased among all age groups, but increased the most among the oldest age group. Key findings were that:

• Fall deaths increased substantially from 8,613 in 2000 to 25,189 in 2016.
• Age-adjusted mortality rates among adults aged 75 years and older increased significantly.
  • For men, from approximately 61 per 100,000 in 2000 to 116 per 100,000 in 2016.
  • For women during that time, the increase was from more than 46 per 100,000 women to 106 per 100,000.

Falls result in increased injuries, deaths, and healthcare costs, but are preventable. CDC’s STEADI initiativeoffers a coordinated approach to implementing the American and British Geriatrics Societies’ clinical practice guideline for fall prevention. STEADI consists of three core elements: Screen, Assess, andIntervene to reduce fall risk by giving older adults tailored strategies.

Psychoactive Medication Use among Older Community-Dwelling Americans

A recently published CDC article in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association (JAPhA) found that in 2013 more than half of all older Americans used at least one psychoactive medication known to increase the risk of falls. The most frequently used medication classes were opioids, benzodiazepines, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and anticonvulsants. Medication use is considerably higher than previous reports from 1996 using the same data source. Among most psychoactive medication classes observed, women had higher usage than men did.

Healthcare providers including pharmacists play a vital role in managing older adults’ exposure to psychoactive medications. Medication management can optimize health and reduce older adult falls.

Additional Resources:

• Stand STEADI Videos – See how healthcare providers and public health professionals across the country are using STEADI in clinical practice.
• Coordinated Care Plan - Offers primary care providers, practices, and healthcare systems a framework for implementing a STEADI-based, clinical fall prevention program to manage their older patients’ fall risk.
• Evaluation Guide - Describes key steps to measuring and reporting on the success of implementing a STEADI-based clinical fall prevention program.