Name of the Community: Borås
Country: Sweden
Number of inhabitants: 96.246
Programme started year: 1992
International Safe Communities Network Membership: Designation year : 1998
Re-designation:
2008
Full re-desigation report: www.phs.ki.se/csp/pdf/safecommunities/boras_sv.pdf (Swedish)
The programme covers the following safety promotion activities:
For the age group
Children 0-14 years:
Child safety work 0-6 years takes place on two levels, one overall for the whole
community and one decentralized on borough level. Contact persons have been appointed in
order to carry out the child safety work within child day care in the boroughs.
- A safety file has been compiled, directed at child health care as well as child day
care.
- Child safety course is held for district nurses in child health care and for all staff
within child day care.
- Information regarding child safety is given continuously to parents within child health
care.
- Child safety inspections at pre-schools and in childminding homes are carried out once a
year.
- Child safety inspection of playgrounds and the traffic environment.
- Local newspaper articles about child safety
- Lessons in traffic safety in schools for children
- Preventing bullying
Youths 15-24 years:
- Training of pupil safety representatives has been carried out. The pupils themselves
offer one another support, thereby participating in the preventive work.
- Alcohol prevention
- Preventing bullying
- Basic training in first aid
Adults 25-64 years:
Alcohol prevention
- Different activities of traffic safety
The elderly 65+ years:
The work for safety for the elderly is carried out on two levels, partly overall
activities spanning the whole municipality and partly decentralized on borough level. In
order to carry out the work in the boroughs, each borough has a contact person.
- Training of staff concerned with the care of the elderly and disabled as well as in
Health care
- For district nurses continuation courses have been held
- Training of informants and safety representatives among the pensioners
- A special training file has been put together
- A list of safety devices has been compiled.
- Safety devices such as spikes, cycle helmets and reflectors are for sale at cost price
- Information to the pensioners associations and other interest groups as well as to
people receiving home help service and those in purpose-built homes.
- Risk estimates are carried out in shared spaces in purpose-built homes.
In the following environments:
Home:
Please see above ”children and elderly”
Traffic:
- Preventive measures in order to reduce private car accidents, cycling accidents and
pedestrian accidents.
- One physical measure is to lower the speed of traffic, thereby reducing injuries to
unprotected road-users
- Display of the entire range of car safety-seats available on the market. Here the
parents can get advice and help to choose the correct seat for both child and type of car.
- Information regarding traffic sobriety is given in connection with other traffic
information.
- Helmet activities have taken place through information to schools, child day care,
parent groups, pensioners organisations etc
- The selling of helmets and anti-slip devices at costprice
- Exhibitions
- Course for moped riders directed at 14-15-year-olds aims to create maturity in a traffic
environment.
- The local streets and parks department has handed out free shingle with a view to
combatting accidents.
- Local risk phone line- Ofelia
Occupational:
A complement to the safety program will be made for ”occupational”
environment.
School:
- Training for school staff in safety.
- Recommendations to the schools with suggestions for preventive measures in order to
reduce injuries
Sports:
Sports safety course for the managers of the sports associations as well as trainers,
parents and active sports enthusiasts. Subjects raised are prevention of sports injuries,
emergency care, training methods for rehabilitation of injuries and the importance of a
correct diet.
Leisure: see above
“Accidents“ (non-intentional injuries) in the following injury areas:
Violence prevention (intentional injuries):
- The Crime Prevention Council in Borås was established in 1997. The goal is to reduce
the amount of crimes and increase security for the inhabitants of the municipality. The
preventive measures are meant to change the individual propensity to commit crime and the
occurrence of criminogenic situations. The Council is based on a multi-agency approach and
will work in close relation with the ten independent boroughs.
- Different projects in urban districts in Borås have the aim of reinforcing people´s
social networks in order to bring about a better general standard of health. Through the
building of social networks, both public activities, voluntary organisations and many
residents have become involved in various activities. Developing social networks in
residential areas creates security and prevents violence.
- Parents patrolling the neighbourhood.
- Preventing bullying
Suicide prevention (self-inflicted injuries):
The programme will be complemented within this spere.
Programme aiming at “High-risk groups“:
The registration of 1993-94 showed that children, pupils in schools and elderly people
are“high-risk groups”. That is why our safety work in Borås focuses on these
groups. Projects in socially deprived areas to reinforce people´s social networks in
order to bring about a better general standard of health.
Surveillance of injuries: Where
At the hospital and the district health care centres.
Number per year: approx. 7 800 (1994)
Population base: 96.246
Started year: 1993 - 1994.
At school: started 1995
Within care of the elderly: started 1994
Publications: (Scientific)
Håkanson IM among others. Registrering av olycksfallsskador inom Borås, Mark,
Svenljunga, Tranemo och Ulricehamns kommuner. Borås, 1993.
Håkanson IM, Blanck P. Registrering av olycksfallsskador inom Borås, Mark,
Svenljunga, Tranemo och Ulricehamns kommuner. Borås, 1994.
Johansson B. Vem faller - var, när och hur? En studie om fallolyckor bland äldre
boende i eget hem. MPH-essay. Unpublished. Borås, 1997.
Sjöberg C. Registrering av skololycksfall under 1995 vid skolor i Borås kommun.
Borås, 1996
Sjöberg C.Registrering av skololycksfall uner läsåret 1996-97 vid skolor i Borås
kommun. Borås 1997.
Henriksson G, Jacobson K, VI-projektet, En intervjuundersökning i Brämhults
kommundel, Borås. Borås, 1994.
Håkanson IM, Lorén H, Westheim E, Axelsson E. VI-projektet, Sociala nätverk,
samverkan och hälsa i ett bostadsområde. Borås 1997.
Wängerstedt I. Invandrarkvinnors livssituation, En intervjustudie med kvinnor på
Hässleholmen, Borås. Borås 1996.
Produced information material, pamphlets:
- Pamphlets and displays about safety for elderly people.
- Displays on child safety including child safety in cars and on bicycles.
- File about safety for children and the elderly.
- Pamphlets about the safety work´s different sections: safety for children, safety in
schools, safety for the elderly and traffic safety.
International commitments:
Study visits:
Participation in Safe Community conferences:
In South Africa 1997, Rotterdam 1998
Hosting Safe Community Conferences: Borås will host a national safe community
conference in October 1998.
Hosting “Travelling Seminars“: Not yet
Staff
Number: 2 (Who have the general responsibility for the public health work in
Borås)
Professions: The municipality has a full time public health co-ordinator who has
the responsibility for the general public health work in Borås and the Health care has a
health planner.
Permanent: The public health planner and the public health co-ordinator.
Temporary: The leaders of the specific safety prevention groups.
Organisation: Injury prevention work is led by the Public Health Council which
represents a co-operation between the municipality, the health care, the Social Insurance
Office and the Police authorities. The injury prevention programme is an important part of
the Public Health Council´s activities. Five working teams with designated different risk
groups and risk environments have been established. They are: the Child safety group, the
School safety group, the Sports safety group, the council for the safety of the elderly
and the traffic safety council Each group has members from different areas in the
community. The leaders of the different groups form together with the public health
co-ordinator and the health planner, a central competence group for the general safety
work in Borås. The group is responsible for implementing the safety prevention work,
co-ordination and for inspiring further work.
For further information please contact:
Marie Persson
Borås Municipality
Kommundelskontoret Centrum
501 80 Borås
Sweden
Phone: + 46 33 358047
Fax: +46 33 358177
Info address on www for the community: http://www.bk.boras.se
Copyright © 1999-2000 Dept. of Public Health Sciences.
