Age Groups:
Children and youth (0-18 years)
Adults
Elderly

Environments:
The home
Traffic
Institutions
Work place
Sports
Local society

Children and youth (0-18 years):
Day care centres for children ages 0-3 years are instructed as regards safety measures when they are approved as institutions. This is followed-up annually.

Public health nurses instruct parents with young children (8 months) on the prevention of childhood accidents in the home.

Annual safety checks of play areas and equipment in kindergartens are carried out, and indoor safety measures are implemented.

Schools and after-school centres have rules of behaviour that greatly reduce the number of serious accidents. Safety representatives review buildings and consultants undertake yearly inspection of play areas.

The police are responsible for information campaigns on cycling at the start of school.

The police and safety instructors teach road safety and are responsible for inspecting cyclists.

Schools have a school patrol.

The police are responsible for analysing all safety-related accidents. They work to reduce the number of "dangerous places" and types of accidents in the municipality, as well as lessen local drivers’ lack of attentiveness when driving in familiar areas.

"SSP" (school-social workers and the police) have a formalised collaboration that aims to prevent criminal activity among children and youth – and when this is unsuccessful – to solve/uncover criminal activity and prevent further crime.

One school uses soft training equipment during physical education. This helps children, especially those who are cautious and apprehensive, to feel safer so that they also have the chance to develop their balance and motor skills.

"Natteravnene", established in cooperation with SSP and local business- and trade associations, is comprised of a group of volunteer citizens. The primary goal is to be safety-minded and prevent violence, vandalism and other criminal activity by being visible among youth in the environments young people frequent at night.

Sports: Coaches are trained to be attentive to the prevention of sports-related injuries.

Adults:
Employees’ Health Services Alssund (BST) advises member organisations on health and safety. The goal is to promote employees’ safety and health (both physical and mental), together with preventing injuries at the work place, including accidents and work-related illness.

The police operate an information campaign on slippery roadways. Both regional and rural authorities undertake goal-oriented activities, e.g. drunk-driving checks in connection with festivals, motorcycle rallies etc., as well as cyclist inspections and safety-belt checks at the start of the school year.

"Akutbilen" is a first aid preparedness initiative established in collaboration between Danfoss A/S and Nordborg Municipality. The vehicle responds immediately to accidents or illness in the municipality and can be on the scene within minutes. First aid is performed until an ambulance from Sønderborg arrives.

The volunteer fire department and/or lifeboat are able to respond within five minutes of the sounding of the alarm.

The volunteer fire department offers fire safety courses to the municipalities’ institutions.

Treatment opportunities have been established for alcoholics, drug abusers and their families. In addition, network groups have been set-up for some of these same groups, i.e. alcoholics, children of abusers, young drug abusers and relatives. Addict consultants in the municipalities’ work together with physicians, social workers, businesses, and hospitals and are available on short notice around the clock.

In 1999, all workplaces within the municipal organisation were offered a first aid course. The offer is ongoing.

Danish People’s Aid (ASF-Dansk Folkehjælp) has first aid watches at music festivals, tilting at the ring, and other large venues.

There are network persons within the municipality, who are specially trained and who have an obligation to listen to and be attentive to signs of poor functioning among colleagues who may have difficulty seeking help.

Personal counselling within the municipal organisation consists of a broadly comprised group of individuals with professional backgrounds that can help employees with personal problems of an acute nature.

Elderly:
The municipality offers preventive home visits two times per year to all citizens over the age of 75. During these visits, the following topics are addressed: falling accidents, lay-out of the home, choice of footwear, the importance of drinking plenty of fluids and eating well, daily exercise and medication use.

Registration of falls among the elderly at home and at nursing homes is also undertaken.

Four physiotherapists have been employed to work with the elderly to develop balance and motor skills in order to prevent falling accidents and give the elderly more confidence when they’re out.

It is the "forflytningsvejleders" responsibility to inform personnel on how back and other injuries can be prevented.

Many volunteer organisations and associations participate in the prevention and health promotion work, which in some cases also comprises accident prevention. These include: "ældresagens" telephone service, which carries out "safety calls" every morning to vulnerable elderly, the Danish Red Cross’ visiting service and Danish People’s Aid’s offers to visit elderly persons who are alone and/or weak.

"Indkøbsbussen" is an offer to elderly persons, persons who have difficulty walking and handicapped persons who have difficulty getting out to shop. Volunteers help them on/off the bus, as well as with shopping.

A group of professionals both within and outside the municipal organisation have voluntarily established an anonymous telephone counselling service that aims to prevent, suicides and accidents.

 

Environments

The home:
Public health nurses instruct parents as regards the prevention of childhood accidents.

Nurses, who carry out preventive home visits among the elderly, provide information on how the elderly can prevent falls.

Volunteer associations carry out "safety calls" to vulnerable elderly on a daily basis. A number of elderly also receive a weekly visit from a "visiting friend". Elderly in their own home are eligible to use a bus to help them with their shopping (volunteers provide practical help).

Traffic:
The police carry out information campaigns on getting to school safely and icy roadways, together with implementing cyclist inspections, safety-belt checks and drunk driving checks.

The police teach alongside safety instructors at the schools and carry out cyclist inspections.

One of the municipality’s schools has a "school patrol.

The police carry out analyses of all traffic accidents and work to reduce the number of "dangerous places" and types of accidents in the municipality, as well as examine the time of accidents. This can entail erecting/changing road signs and/or street markers, and changing traffic/street lights.

Institutions:
Day care centres are instructed as regards accident prevention and safety procedures.

In day care centres, play areas and equipment are checked once a year and indoor safety measures are implemented.

Schools and after-school centres have rules in place that greatly reduce the number of severe accidents. Annual control of buildings and play areas is also carried out.

SSP (school, social, police) works to prevent criminality among children and youth.

Employees’ Health Services Alssund (BST) are counselled as regards safety and health, together with prevention of work place accidents and work-related illness.

Nursing home personnel are instructed on how to prevent back and other injuries.

The volunteer fire department offers fire safety courses at the municipalities’ institutions

In 1999, all municipal employees were offered a first-aid course.

Colleague-network persons and personnel counsellors provide help to employees with personal problems.

Business:
Representatives from business-, trade-, handcraft-, professional-, and municipal- associations collaborate on health, including accident prevention, at the workplace.

Sports:
Coaches are trained to be attentive to the prevention of sports-related injuries.

Local society:
"Natteravnene" is comprised of a group of volunteer citizens who are visible among youth in the environments that young people frequent at night. The goal is safety-mindedness and accident prevention.

As regards alcohol and drug abuse, there are offers of treatment, as well as groups for alcoholics, children of alcoholics and drug abusers, young drug abusers, and relatives.

Anonymous telephone counselling is available to citizens in Nordborg Municipality and is instrumental in preventing suicides and other accidents.

The Women’s Crisis Centre, located in Sønderborg, serves acutely battered women and children from Nordborg Municipality.

First-aid preparedness activities exist in many forms:

"Acutbil" responds immediately and provides first-aid until an ambulance from Sønderborg arrives on the scene.

There are volunteer fire departments throughout the municipality. There is also a lifeboat that can respond within minutes.

There are first aid watches’ at music festivals, tilting at the ring and at other large venues in the municipality.

Programmes targeting high-risk groups:

Children:
In the home: Public health nurses carry out frequent home visits to socially vulnerable families where the risk of accidents can be high.

Day care centres: Many day care centres have programmes for children with poor motor skills.

Elderly:
In the home: Home visits among the elderly (especially those who live alone and have a poor social network) focussing on preventive activities as regards risk factors in the home, medication and food and drinking (water).

Traffic:
Children at the start of school comprise a high-risk group as regards traffic on the way to school.

At the start of school, traffic police monitor the speed limit near schools, safety belt use, as well as carry out drunk driving checks. Posters illustrating the importance of paying attention are put up in the vicinity of schools. Parents receive informational material concerning safety on the way to school.

Monitoring programme for injuries:
Traffic: Since 1996, the police have been responsible for registering traffic accidents. There are, on average, 79 traffic accidents per year.

Hospital admissions: During the period from 1997-1999, Nordborg Municipality has had, on average, 142 admissions per year as the result of accidents.

At this time, there doesn’t exist adequate information on emergency room visits.

The Staff:
The safe community work is a part of "Sund By" – the Health Promotion unit, who has 21 persons employeed.

Two full-time persons work on the administration of the project.
Permanent: Yes
Organisation: Chief of Health Promotion is responsible for the project.
Group for general health promotion work: Yes

Contact person: