Safe Community Mariestad

Country: Sweden
Number of inhabitants: 24,000
Program started year: 1992
Designation year: 1999, Re-designation year: 2008

For further information please contact:

Gunilla Carlsson
Public health coordinator
Mariestad Municipality
Kyrkogatan 2
542 86 Mariestads kommun
Phone: + 46 501 75 50 24
E-mail: gunilla.m.carlsson@mariestad.se

Full application available at:
English

Swedish

The program covers the following safety promotion activities:

For the age group

Children 0-6 years:

•  Information and parental education to families with young children

•  Baby bicycle helmet prescriptions

•  CPR & first aid classes (free of charge) at Family Health Clinic

Children 7-19 years:

•  Safety day for 5 th grade students

•  Sewer drain lid inventories

•  Anti-bullying programs

•  Alcohol- and drug prevention programs/activities

Adults 20-65 years:

• Alcohol and crime prevention activities
• Traffic safety activities
  

The elderly 65+ years:

•  Study circles for seniors

•  Fall injury prevention

•  Information to the community & demonstration of prevention aids

•  “Safety walks” outside of geriatric homes

•  Home assistance service

•  Home visits to senior citizens when they turn 78 years

•  Review of prescribed medication (to prevent falls)

In the following environments:

Home:

•  Information on child safety devices during home visits by Family Health Clinic professionals

•  Home assistance service for seniors

•  Information on fall injury prevention and demonstration of aids during home visits to seniors

•  “Safety walks” in the neighborhood

Traffic:

• Information folder about vegetation (close to intersections) rules and regulations.
• Speed reducing measures
• “Don't drink and drive” campaigns
• Traffic safety days
• “Healthy travel challenge” (reduce traffic and increase use of bicycle helmets)

Occupational:

•  Large local safe workplace network

•  Annual seminars open to all local businesses and organizations

School:

• Safety day for 5 th grade students
• Anti-bulling programs
• Alcohol prevention programs
• Fire safety (internship & sharing knowledge to other students)
  

Sports:

•  Information and seminars to raise awareness

•  Safe sports club certification program

Leisure:

•  Various activities related to safety in and around water or ice

•  Map of areas with unsafe ice (during the winter months)

•  Lending life vests to community members for temporary use

Natural disasters:

•  Safe community coordinating group cooperates with persons in charge of natural disaster prevention/readiness

Violence prevention:

• Crime prevention activities
• “Responsible drinking educational program” for restaurant owners (program includes conflict management)
  
  

Suicide prevention:

•  Education of school nurses and counselors (self-inflicted injuries & suicide)

•  Plans on initiating a systematic suicide prevention program in cooperation with the school system & social welfare department

•  “The forgotten children program”

Program aiming at “High-risk groups“:

•  Mental health, self-afflicted injuries & suicide prevention (see information above)

•  Alcohol and crime prevention activities (see information above)

•  Fall injury prevention & senior safety (see information above)

Surveillance of injuries:

Annual statistic from primary health care centers, hospitals, emergency clinics, emergency clinics and public dental clinics. In addition to reporting the absolute number of accidents each year the statistics also provides information about age, gender, where, when and the type of injury.

In 2006 the total injury rate for all ages was 101 cases per 1000 inhabitants. The injury rate in Mariestad has decreased gradually since 2001 when the reported injury rate was 129 cases per 1000 inhabitants.

Publications: (Scientific)

1. Är det farligt att delta i lagidrott? Idrottsskador i tre kommuner i Skaraborg 2004. Projektredovisning 2005:7, Primärvården Skaraborg, FoU-centrum, Skadeenheten i Lidköping,2005, Inger Fahl (Swedish)

Produced information material, pamphlets:

• Displays on child safety
• Crime prevention pamphlets
• Traffic safety pamphlets and news letters
• Senior safety and fall injury prevention folders
• Safe ice map (posted on municipal website)
• Information screens used at different events or seminars

International commitments:

Participation in Safe Community conferences:

•  National conferences, 2000, Nacka , Sweden

•  European conference, 2004, Skövde , Sweden

Hosting Safe Community Conferences:
Hosted an international safe community conference together with neighboring municipality, Töreboda, in May 2005.

Hosting “Travelling Seminars“:
Hosted a traveling seminar together with other safe communities in the region ( West Sweden ) in the fall of 2002.

Organization:
Since the fall of 1992 the injury prevention and safety promotion program is coordinated by a cross-sectional group consisting of representatives from different municipal administrations, the primary health care system, the police department and the fire and rescue department. The preventive program is based upon seven workgroups, which initiate and follow up interventions and activities. An employed public health planner is responsible for the coordination of the preventive work.The injury prevention and safety promotion program in Mariestad is integrated in the public health agenda. The public health issues in Mariestad are governed by a local public health council. The public health council consists of seven politicians and the public health coordinator.