The Virginia Department of Health Injury and Violence Prevention is working to create healthy, thriving and resilient communities that are free from injury and violence at the individual, relationship, community, and societal levels. By addressing each of the priorities through policy, systems and social norm changes that are data driven, we can build resilience and ensure prevention. Together, we share knowledge and work to change these environments that will impact all of our outcomes.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Social-Ecological Modelhttps://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/publichealthissue/social-ecologicalmodel.html
Safe States: Core Competencies https://www.safestates.org/page/CoreCompetencies
Connecting the Dots
https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvrp9iOILTQa-n5IGrKUHeWbhCK8dC0oW
State Child Fatality Review Team
ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences)
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Childhood experiences, both positive and negative, have a tremendous impact on future violence victimization and perpetration, and lifelong health and opportunity. As such, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are an important public health issue.
- Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services: http://www.virginiapreventionworks.org/family-wellness/
- ACEs Online Training: https://vetoviolence.cdc.gov/apps/aces-training/#/#top
- CDC: Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect: A Technical Package for Policy, Norm, and Programmatic Activities: https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/can-prevention-technical-package.pdf
- American Academy of Pediatrics: Adverse Childhood Experiences and the Lifelong Consequences of Trauma https://www.aap.org/en-us/Documents/ttb_aces_consequences.pdf
Safe Kids Worldwide is a global organization dedicated to protecting kids from unintentional injuries, the number one cause of death to children in the United States. Safe Kids Virginia has been a long standing partner with the Virginia Department of Health to advance prevention of childhood injury. To find a Virginia Safe Kids coalition, visit https://www.safekids.org/our-network
Why It Matters: https://www.safekids.org/why-it-matters
Critical Priorities: Unintentional Injury
Motor Vehicle Related
Every day across Virginia, the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) Child Passenger Safety (CPS) Program, in partnership with statewide and community transportation safety experts, continues to make progress in addressing the impact of motor vehicle (MV) traffic related injuries among children. A combination of increased proper use of child restraint systems, CPS law enhancements, strong existing infrastructure, and partnerships throughout the Commonwealth has contributed to this success. Despite significant progress, children continue to be a vulnerable population traveling on roadways in Virginia. The good news is, many MV related injuries can be preventable. What is the Virginia Department of Health doing?
To learn more about being a Certified Safety Seat Technician, please call:
1-800-732-8333
Other Motor Vehicle Related Resources: Coming Soon
- Every Ride, Safe Ride
- Pregnancy and Seat Belts
- Booster Seat Transition
- Regionalization
Children’s Products
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the law defines a “children’s product” as a consumer product designed or intended primarily for children 12 years of age or younger.
The Virginia Department of Health Injury and Violence Prevention Program works in tandem with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission as Virginia’s state designee to help keep people and communities safe in and around the home through effective communication messaging.
Product Safety Recall Info:
https://www.cpsc.gov/cgi-bin/javascripts/cpscrss.js
https://www.cpsc.gov/cgi-bin/javascripts/cpscrss.js
https://www.youtube.com/embed/T0X_MsAI5KM
Link to www.anchorit.gov
- Concussion Management: Dr. Caswell at GMU: Video
- Playground Safety
- SAFE Supervision National Program for Playground Safety: https://www.youtube.com/embed/51yffWkkrpc
- Partnership with the Virginia Department of Education, Return to Learn, Return to Play Guidelines: Information Coming Soon
- Bike Smart: Coming Soon
- Prevention of Falls: Fall Prevention Coalition: Coming Soon
- Abusive Head Trauma (Shaken Baby Syndrome)
- Period of Purple Crying https://www.youtube.com/embed/5pAw8fJ_kUc
Vehicle Heat Related
Sometimes children sleep so peacefully that busy parents can forget they are even there. Other times, we might be tempted to leave kids in the car while we run into the store or dash off to do an errand. Children can also end up alone in cars if the doors or trunk are left unlocked. However it happens, according to Safe Kids Worldwide, children can die from being unattended in a vehicle. That’s why children should never be alone in a car. It can lead to heatstroke, which causes serious injury or even death. Young children are particularly at risk since their bodies heat up faster than an adult’s.
https://www.safekids.org/sites/default/files/documents/2019_hs._safety_tipsheet-eng.pdf
Safe Sleep
Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) is the leading cause of death for babies 1 month old until 1 year old in Virginia and nationwide. Almost all of these deaths occur while the baby is sleeping. The studies from these deaths have revealed ways to keep babies safe while they sleep and have shown that these deaths can be prevented. There are things that parents and caregivers can do to protect babies from SUIDs and many things that parents and caregivers should not do. It is important to talk to anyone taking care of your baby about the steps for Safe Sleep, http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/safe-sleep/
American Academy of Pediatrics SIDS Technical Report: https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2016/10/20/peds.2016-2940.full.pdf
Crib Safety Education Center: https://www.cpsc.gov/Safety-Education/Safety-Education-Centers/cribs
10 Tips for Baby Safety: https://www.cpsc.gov/Newsroom/Multimedia/?vid=74990ADD
CPSC Safety Centers: https://www.cpsc.gov/Safety-Education
CPSC Window Covering Safety Education: https://www.cpsc.gov/Safety-Education/Safety-Education-Centers/Window-Covering
Poisoning Prevention:
Everyday items in your home, such as household cleaners and medicines, can be poisonous to children as well. Medication dosing mistakes and unsupervised ingestions are common ways that children are poisoned. Active, curious children will often investigate—and sometimes try to eat or drink—anything that they can get into.
https://uvahealth.com/services/poison-control
https://poison.vcu.edu/public/factsheets.html
Room by Room Guide to Poison Proofing Your Home: https://www.cpsc.gov/s3fs-public/PoisonPrevent2014.pdf
Injury and Violence Epidemiology and Evaluation
Injury and violence epidemiology applies epidemiological methods to the study of the prevention of important public health causes of unintentional and intentional injury, and the impact of their effects. Injury and violence prevention program evaluation is known as the the systematic collection of information about the activities, characteristics, and outcomes of programs to make judgments about the program, improve program effectiveness, and/or inform decisions about future program development.
Plans
- Injury and Violence Prevention 5 Year Action Plan: Coming Soon
- Injury and Violence Prevention Collaborative Shared Agenda: Coming Soon
- Commonwealth of Virginia Trauma System Plan: PDF provided in One Drive
- Suicide Prevention Across The Lifespan Plan for the Commonwealth of Virginia : PDF provided in One Drive
- Virginia 2017-2021 Strategic Highway Safety Plan: PDF provided in One Drive
- Sexual and Domestic Violence Prevention Plan: Coming soon
Policy Tracker: Coming Soon add as a resource
Trauma Informed Care
Healthcare Provider Education: Project ECHO: Link to the ECHO site
Online Training Database
Project Patience: http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/project-patience/
Drowning Prevention
When most of us are enjoying time at the pool or beach, or relaxing at home near water, injuries aren’t the first thing on our minds. Yet, drownings are a leading cause of injury death for young children. Despite these consequences, drowning and swimming-related injuries are often preventable.
- The Virginia Department of Health Injury and Violence Prevention Program works in tandem with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission as Virginia’s state designee and public and private pool facilities to help keep people and communities safe in and around bodies of water through effective communication messaging.
- Partnership with the Virginia Department of Health Office of Environmental Health Services for advancing injury prevention assessment knowledge among public pool inspectors, operators, and designers: Coming soon
- Traumatic Brain Injury
- The CDC identifies traumatic brain injury (TBI) as a leading public health issue throughout the US. Across the lifespan, there are many different mechanisms of injury which can result in TBI. The Traumatic Brain Injury Prevention Program targets prevention efforts on children given the known health and development implications of injury to the developing brain, and supports partnership efforts in the prevention of falls in the elderly.
- Specific efforts are focused on preventing injuries related to sports and recreational activities, falls, and abusive head trauma.
- Violence Prevention:CDC Veto Violence: https://vetoviolence.cdc.gov/apps/main/home
- Child Maltreatment/Abuse and Neglect
- The Virginia Department of Health supports the implementation of strategies based on the best available evidence to help prevent child abuse and neglect. These strategies include strengthening economic supports to families; changing social norms to support parents and positive parenting; providing quality care and education early in life; enhancing parenting skills to promote healthy child development; and intervening to lessen harms and prevent future risk.
- CDC: What is Child Matreatment? https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvrp9iOILTQa-n5IGrKUHeWbhCK8dC0oWLink to https://seekwellbeing.org/
- Resources supporting SEEK
- Food Insecurity: Virginia Department of Health Women, Infants, and Children: http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/wic/
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services: Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services: http://www.dbhds.virginia.gov/community-services-boards-csbs
- Tobacco Free Living: http://www.vdh.virginia.gov/tobacco-free-living/
Suicide Prevention: Link to….
Sexual Violence Prevention
Sexual violence is a significant public health problem in the United States and in Virginia. Each year, millions of women, men, and children report completed or attempted sexual acts against their will. These reports are likely underestimates because victims fear being blamed, attacked again, or not being believed. The good news is that sexual violence can be prevented.
The Virginia Department of Health work collaboratively with diverse stakeholders, including state sexual violence coalitions, educational institutions, rape crisis centers, community organizations and other state agency partners to guide implementation of their state sexual violence prevention efforts.
Resources: Coming Soon
Intimate Partner Violence Prevention
Intimate partner violence (IPV), including teen dating violence (TDV), is a major health concern for youth and adults, affecting Virginians each year. The impacts can be devastating and last a lifetime, but preventing IPV and TDV is possible.
Project Connect: Information Coming Soon
General Resources
Injury Fact Sheets: