Safe Community Land Brandenburg

Country: Germany
Number of inhabitants: 2.5 million
Programme started year: 2001
International Safe Communities Network Membership Designation year: 2009
Info address for community: www.brandenburg.de

Full application available: www.gesundheitsplattform.brandenburg.de

Full application report:

For further information contact:

Dr. Gabriele Ellsäßer
Landesgesundheitsamt Brandenburg
Wünsdorfer Platz 3
D-15806 Zossen
Germany

Phone: ++49(0)3 37 02 7 11 06
Fax: ++49(0)3 37 02 7 11 99
E-mail: Gabriele.Ellsaesser@lasv.brandenburg.de

The programme covers the following safety promotion activities:

For the age group

Children 0-14 years - Violence prevention:

•  “Program for qualifying child protection work”: Training of youth welfare office employees in child protection, establishment of interdisciplinary regional and local networks for child protection

•  Guideline „Early detection of violence against children and adolescents”: Support for professionals in early detection and aid in case of neglect, violence, abuse

Children 0-14 years - Prevention of accidents at home:

•  “Local networks for healthy children”: volunteering persons inform young families about typical accident hazards for children in early childhood.

•  Midwife check „On the safe side”: midwives inform parents before, during and after birth on typical accident risks for children in early childhood

•  Travelling exhibit „Children see things differently“: Parents are informed on accident dangers at home, in road traffic and on playgrounds

Children 0-14 years - Prevention of accidents in traffic:

•  The multi-media “ZeBra-World“ playfully addresses children in nursery schools and elementary schools (stage plays, colouring books, website)

•  “Lena and Hannes” are role models for addressing the age group of 8 to 13 year olds

•  “Safe way to school”: municipalities are supported to improve the security of the way to school and to play

•  Bus school for school beginners

Youth 15-24 years - Violence prevention at schools:

•  “Antibullying at schools”: Schools and police co-operate to reduce psychological and physical violence at schools

•  “Better clever than drunk – alcohol prevention at schools and youth clubs”: Adolescents learn responsible handling of alcohol to avoid youth specific risks (alcohol poisoning, alcohol related traffic accidents, violence, unprotected or unwanted sexuality)

Youth 15-24 years - Prevention of self-injury and suicide at schools:

“PIT Brandenburg – school prevention as a team”: School teachers are informed about adolescent self-injury and attempted suicide

Youth 15-24 years - Prevention of accidents in traffic:

•  “Matze”: The campaign figure „Matze“ asks adolescents from 13 to 17 years to creatively deal with the subject of traffic safety.

•  “Guardian angels”: Young men and women who are dressed up as guardian angels/rascals promote a safety oriented attitude, especially with young beginning drivers

•  “Peer-project for beginning drivers”: Specially trained young adults (peers) treat the subject of alcohol and drugs in driving schools with driving school pupils

•  “Cool to my destination”: Safer driving training for novice drivers

•  „Safety Check“: The vehicles of young beginning drivers are checked on safety risks

Adults 25-64 years (Women and their children) - Violence prevention:

•  Federal state action plan to combat violence against women

Adults 25-64 years - Prevention of accidents at the work place:

•  Federal state work group „Work and Health”: Continuous information exchange on safety and health protection at work

•  Yearly special events within the framework of the European Campaign for Safety and Health at the Work Place: Event days at vocational schools, company initiatives, conferences/workshops/seminars

•  Safety and health protection in small enterprises and in gardening enterprises

Elderly 65+ years - Prevention of accidents in traffic:

•  “School bus project for senior citizens”: Using the motto „be mobile-also as a senior citizen“, elderly people become acquainted with newly deployed busses and reduce their fears by using public transportation

•  “Senior citizen safety”: During senior citizen specific events (for example health fairs), elderly car drivers are sensitised on age-specific car driving risks

Elderly 65+ years - Prevention of falls:

•  “Brandenburg concept for prevention of falls in stationary care facilities”: nursing home employees are schooled to become mentors for fall prevention in stationary care facilities for elderly people

•  “Fall prevention in outpatient care”: employees in outpatient care are qualified to „mentors for fall prevention“ to prevent falls in the domestic environment

Migrants:

•  “MiMi - Migrants for Migrants – intercultural health in Brandenburg”: Migrants are schooled as volunteer health mediators to inform migrants about health issues and about accident and violence prevention

Surveillance of injuries:

•  Traffic accidents are systematically registered by the police according to accident cause, accident location and involved parties

•  Data on victims of violent criminality is monitored through the police criminal statistic

•  Accidents in nursery schools and schools, including the way there and back, are monitored and evaluated by the accident insurance Brandenburg

•  Work place accidents are registered through the responsible organisations of the legal accident insurances.

•  Child accidents are continuously analysed during the health examination for school entry

•  2006, in co-operation with the Public Health Institute of Brandenburg, the Carl-Thiem-Clinic (CTK) in Cottbus, as the first German clinic, established a hospital related injury registration system according to the international standard injury data base (IDB). Since, data of all injured patients and all injury categories (accident, violence, self-injury) are continuously registered anonymously. In 2008 the Municipal Hospital Eisenhüttenstadt joint the project.

Publications (only English publications):

•  Ellsäßer G, Böhmann J (2001) Implementation and results of injury monitoring in a German city. European Consumer Safety Association, Programme and abstracts 3rd European Convention on Consumer Safety, Vienna

•  Ellsäßer G, Berfenstam R (2000) International comparisons of child injuries and prevention programs: recommendations for an improved prevention program in Germany. Inj Prev 6: 41-45

•  Ellsäßer G (2000) Injuries among pre-school children in the federal state of Brandenburg depending on social factors – 1997-99. International Conference, Social inequities in injury risks, book of abstracts, Paris

Staff:

Interdepartmental work group „Accident and Violence Prevention“

48 institution co-operate in the work group „Accident and Violence Prevention“ which was initiated in 1997. The alliance is concerned with a sustainable improvement of the health situation and the well-being of children and adolescents in Brandenburg. Members of the group are ministries, public health services facilities, physician associations, health insurances, accident insurances, rescue organisations, fire departments, political parties, organisations and associations.

Direction: Dr. Gabriele Ellsäßer

Co-ordination: Dr. Elke Seidel

International commitments:

Co-operation with Safe Community Vorarlberg (Austria)

The Public Health Institute of Brandenburg is national data administrator within the European project IDB.

The “Forum Traffic Safety in Brandenburg” is member of the European Charta for street traffic security